A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: A New Insight into The
Variations of Origin Site of The Superior Thyroid Artery
Mahmoud Sheikh-Mohammed Satte*
Anatomy Department, Medical College, Najran University, Najran City, KSA
*Corresponding Author
Received: 18 November 2025; Accepted: 27 November 2025; Published: 05 November 2025
ABSTRACT
Objectives: The purpose of this review was to perform a search that noted where the superior thyroid artery
(STA) originated.
Methods: The indexing databases PubMed and Google Scholar were used for the literature search and the
articles that evaluated the origin site of the STA were included.
Results: Seventy-one studies were analyzed, yielding a total of 6837 samples. Our findings revealed that STA
commonly originated from the external carotid artery (58.17%), followed by carotid bifurcation (23.50%),
common carotid (15.83%), and internal carotid (0.04%), lingual (0.01%), occipital (0.01%) and ascending
pharyngeal (0.01%) arteries. It arises as a shared trunk (arising from external, internal or common carotid or
carotid bifurcation arteries) with other arteries including thyro-lingual (1.45%), thyro-linguo-facial (0.54%),
thyro-occipital(0.01%), thyro-linguo-laryngeal (0.01%), and thyro-hyo-laryngo-cricothyro-sternocleidomastoid
(0.01%) trunks or absent (0.38%).
Conclusion: We created a novel, simple classification based on our outcome. Attention to this anatomical
variation is critical for surgeons and radiologists to achieve preferable anterior neck operations.
Keywords: Variations, origin site, superior thyroid artery
INTRODUCTION
The location of the thyroid gland is in the upper anterior cervical region and wraps at the area of the cricoid
cartilage and tracheal rings, posterior to the sternothyroid and sternohyoid muscles. On the anatomical and
physiological side, the thyroid gland possesses right and left lobes, which are joined by the isthmus and are
responsible for producing hormones in its surrounding capillaries, which are important for body growth and
metabolic rate [1, 2]. The arterial supply to the head and cervical regions is provided by the common carotid
artery (CCA), internal carotid artery (ICA), and external carotid artery (ECA). The right CCA comes from the
brachiocephalic artery behind to the right sternoclavicular joint. The left CCA originates from the aortic arch in
the superior mediastinum. Both CCAs ascend cranially through the neck below the front edge of the
sternocleidomastoid muscle, from the sternoclavicular joint to the upper border of the thyroid cartilage. Here, it
splits off into the ECA and ICA; this bifurcation region is called the carotid bifurcation (CB). One of the thyroid
gland's primary arteries is the STA, which originates from the same side of the ECA and runs downward and is
divided into numerous glandular branches: anterior, which descends on the posterior border to supply the medial
and lateral surfaces and anastomoses with the inferior thyroid artery; posterior, which runs along the medial side
of the upper part of the lateral lobe to supply primarily the anterior surface; and a branch that crosses above the
isthmus to anastomose with its fellow on the opposite side. The lateral surface was occasionally supplied by a
lateral branch. The infrahoid, superior laryngeal, sternocleidomastoid, and cricothyroid are non-glandular
branches of the STA. The superior laryngeal nerve's external branch is frequently runs parallel to the STA. Since
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