The carotid artery is located on both sides of the neck. It begins in the upper chest, just below the neck, and travels upward toward the skull. Each side has a common carotid artery that ascends from different origins—the right from the brachiocephalic trunk and the left from the aortic arch. At around the level of the fourth cervical vertebra (near the upper border of the thyroid cartilage in the neck), each common carotid artery bifurcates into two branches: the internal carotid artery, which travels deeper into the skull to supply the brain, and the external carotid artery, which supplies blood to the face and neck. The carotid artery is enclosed in a carotid sheath along with the internal jugular vein and vagus nerve, and it can be found near the sternocleidomastoid muscle in the neck.
