Unilateral Linguofacial Trunk of the External Carotid Artery: A Cadaveric Case Report From Myanmar

BACKGROUND The external carotid artery (ECA) supplies major extracranial structures of the head and neck and typically gives rise to 8 branches. Among its ventral branches, the lingual and facial arteries normally arise independently; however, they may occasionally share a common origin, known as the linguofacial trunk (LFT). Recognizing these variants is crucial for surgeons and radiologists to prevent surgical errors and ensure effective treatment. CASE REPORT During a routine cadaveric dissection in the Department of Anatomy, University of Medicine 1, Yangon, Myanmar, we systematically examined the carotid triangle to assess the branching pattern of the ECA. A unilateral LFT was identified on the right side of a male cadaver. The trunk originated approximately 10 mm from the anterior surface of the ECA, just superior to the carotid bifurcation, giving rise to both the lingual and facial arteries. The superior thyroid artery arose independently below this level. On the left side, the ECA branching pattern followed the classical description, with separate lingual and facial arteries. CONCLUSIONS To the best of our knowledge, this is the first published cadaveric case report describing an LFT in a donor from Myanmar, highlighting unilateral LFT as a clinically significant anatomic variation of the ECA. Recognition of this variant is critical in head and neck surgery, selective arterial ligation, and interventional oncology, where failure to identify variant ECA patterns can compromise procedural success and patient safety.