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A member asked:
Can you survive with one carotid artery? i'm not talking about a blocked one. i'm talking about not having one period.
2 doctors weighed in across 2 answers
Yes: A blocked one would be considered not having one, so yes. When one carotid artery the human body is so well designed that it can get circulation via the contralateral carotid. This is thanks to see pic
Answered 2/3/2015
3.3k views
Common anomaly.: An absent carotid artery, believe it or not, isn't uncommon (between 1 to 3% of people have it). Blood flow to the brain goes via the carotids as well as the 2 vertebral arteries. In the brain, they form a "circle of Willis" so that less blood flow thru one artery is compensated by more flow thru the others. For those w/o 1 of the 4 arteries, the others get bigger & supply the whole brain.
Answered 5/2/2018
3.3k views
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