Unilateral linguo-facial trunk.

Objective: The main artery in the blood supply of the head and neck region is the external carotid artery (ECA), and it's branches are superior thyroid artery, ascending pharyngeal artery, lingual artery (LA), facial artery (FA), occipital artery, posterior auricular artery, superficial temporal artery maxillary artery. Variations are observed in the origin of these arteries from the ECA. This study aims to present the unilateral linguofacial trunk (LFT) case. Case: During the routine neck dissections performed in the Anatomy Laboratory of Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Medicine, it was observed that the LA and FA originating from the ECA on the right side in a 67-year-old male cadaver fixed with formaldehyde, originated from a common trunk. The length of this trunk was measured as 9.19 mm. The distance of the point where the LFT originated from the ECA to the carotid bifurcation was 21.44 mm, and the vertical distance to the horizontal plane passing over the carotid bifurcation was 16.23 mm. The vertical distances of the point where the LFT originated from the ECA and divided into LA and FA to the horizontal plane passing over the hyoid bone were 13.15 mm and 24.30 mm, respectively. Conclusion: Variations in the branching of the ECA are important in terms of surgery and radiology. Previous studies have reported that LFT occurs in a wide range, between 6% and 20%. Clinicians must be aware of these variations when performing head and neck surgery, maxillofacial surgery, radiological and diagnostic procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]