A case of an anomalous cricothyroid artery

The cricothyroid artery typically originates as a branch of the superior thyroid artery and courses medially to reach the median cricothyroid ligament. Anatom-ical variations of this pattern are not well documented in the literature. We present a case in which the left cricothyroid artery originated from the left supe-rior thyroid artery near the superior border of the thyroid cartilage and coursed medially to pierce the thyroid lamina. This variation was found during a routine anatomy dissection at the American University of the Caribbean School of Med-icine. The possible clinical implications and their relevance to emergency airway management procedures are discussed. Key words: cricothyroid artery, thyroid lamina, cricothyroid membrane, median cricothyroid ligament, cricothyroidostomy, cricothyrodectom