Which arteries supply the face and the anterior portion of the neck, including the tongue, palate, tonsils, larynx, salivary and thyroid glands?

• A. Internal Carotid Arteries
• B. External Carotid Arteries
• C. Vertebral Arteries
• D. Common Carotid Arteries

Answer: (B)

The arteries supplying the face and the front part of the neck, including the tongue, palate, tonsils, larynx, and the salivary and thyroid glands, come from the external carotid arteries. Their branches reach all these superficial and midline structures—tongue from the lingual artery, palate and deep face from the maxillary and related branches, tonsils from the facial artery, and the larynx and thyroid region from the superior thyroid and other external carotid branches. In contrast, the internal carotid arteries mainly feed the brain and eyes, not these facial and anterior-neck structures, and the vertebral arteries supply the posterior circulation of the brain. The common carotid gives rise to both internal and external branches, but the described regions are supplied by the external carotid system.