Figure 1 Anatomical variation and typical external carotid artery (ECA) branching pattern. (A) Cadaveric dissection showing the left side of the face and neck. The left facial artery (FA) arises independently from the ECA, consistent with the typical branching pattern. (B) Dissection of a male cadaver showing the right FA arising from the ECA via a linguofacial trunk (LFT), a common trunk also giving rise to the lingual artery (LA). Although the hypoglossal nerve (HGN) was preserved during dissection, it is not visible in this photographic view in (B) due to its deeper and more medial course in the field. An asterisk (*) represents the submandibular gland (SMG). CCA – common carotid artery; FA – facial artery; LA – lingual artery; LFT – linguofacial trunk; ICA – internal carotid artery; IJV – internal jugular vein; STA – superior thyroid artery.