Two cases of variations in inferior thyroid arterial pattern and their clinical implications.

Vascular variations are the most common ones in humans. Inferior thyroid artery arises from the thyrocervical trunk in 90.5%, from subclavian in 7.5%, and very rarely from the common carotid, aortic arch, brachiocephalic, internal thoracic, pericardiacophrenic, or vertebral. Thyroid ima artery is more common variety found in up to12.2% of the population. Two cadavers dissected in the anatomy department are presented with variations in the blood supply of the thyroid gland. The first case was a 61-year-old man with middle thymothyroid artery arising from the common carotid on the right side and inferior thyroid as a branch of the common carotid on the left. The second case was an 85-year-old female without inferior thyroid arteries bilaterally, replaced by thyroid ima arising from brachiocephalic artery. The awareness of such arterial pattern is crucial for the specialists in imaging and preoperative diagnosing and escaping eventual iatrogenic complications of thyroid gland.