Angiographic Protocol of the Carotid Region

Abstract

This area corresponds to the retroparotid region, extending from the common carotid bifurcation inferiorly to the petro-occipital suture superiorly. The lower cranial nerves and the arteriovenous axis course throughout this area. Multiple lesions can develop in this region, carotid and vagal paragangliomas representing the most illustrative example of pathology for our purpose (see Vol. 2). As seen in Chapter 14, the compartmented composition of these lesions will be extremely useful here to show the vascular territories of the carotid region. As the neoplasm grows, it recruits additional arterial feeders from the territory it invades. The objective of the protocol is to analyze each of these compartments separately (Table 17.1) and to reconstruct the entire lesion by reassembling every single compartment visualized.