THE ARTERIES. 285 
sternothyroid (2) and sternohyoid (1) muscles. A small 
branch, the superior laryngeal, passes to the larynx, and 
supplies those muscles of the larynx which are not enclosed 
by the cartilages. 
3. Rami musculares (¢).—One or two branches, usually of 
considerable size, leave the common carotid at about the same 
level as the superior thyroid and pass to the muscles on the 
dorsal side of the neck, the main trunk of the artery passing 
between the longus capitis (7) and scalenus muscles (10). 
4. A. occipitalis (/).—The occipital artery arises from the 
common carotid at about the same point as the internal carotid. 
It immediately sends a largé branch dorsad, passing between 
M. longus capitis (7) and the vertebral column, to the deep 
-muscles of the neck. The occipital then crosses the outer 
surface of the digastric muscle (8) to the back of the skull, and 
runs along the lambdoidal crest just beneath the splenius 
muscle. It sends a number of branches to the muscles of the 
back of the neck; and one of its branches may unite with the 
vertebral artery as it lies in the groove on the atlas, or with a 
branch of the vertebral. 
5. A. carotis interna (g).—The internal carotid artery is 
one of the terminal branches of the common carotid. It is very 
small. It is given off near or in common with the occipital 
artery, passes toward the cranial end of the tympanic bulla, 
enters the bulla with the Eustachian tube, and passes into the 
skull at the foramen lacerum. Its course is much convoluted 
before entering the foramen. Within the skull (Fig. 121, g) 
it joins the posterior cerebral artery (Fig. 121, /) at the side 
of the hypophysis. 
6. A. carotis externa (Fig. 119, #).—After giving off the 
internal carotid the continuation of the common carotid artery 
receives the name external carotid (m). It passes craniad and 
laterad between the digastric (8) and styloglossus muscles, 
where it gives off cranioventrad the lingual artery (2) anda 
number of small muscular branches; also sometimes the small 
laryngeal artery. At the dorsolateral border of the digastric 
(8) it gives off the external maxillary artery (7), and about one 
centimeter farther craniad the posterior auricular (0). It now 
