Background As novel endovascular strategies are developed for treating neurological disease, there is an increasing need to evaluate these techniques in relevant preclinical models. The use of non-human primates is especially critical given their structural and physiological homology with humans. In order to conduct primate endovascular studies, a comprehensive understanding of the carotid anatomy is necessary. We therefore performed a detailed examination of the vessel lengths, lumen diameters and angles of origin of the baboon extracranial carotid system.

      Methods
      We characterized the extracranial carotid system often male baboons (Papio anubis, range 15.1–28.4 kg) by early post-mortem dissection. Photographic documentation of vessel lengths, lumen diameters, and angles of origin were measured for each segment of the carotid bilaterally.


      Results
      The common carotid arteries averaged 94.7 ± 1.7 mm (left) and 87.1 ± 1.6 mm (right) in length. The average minimal common carotid lumen diameters were 3.0 ± 0.3 mm (left) and 2.9 ± 0.2 mm (right). Each animal had a common brachiocephalic artery arising from the aorta which bifurcated into the left common carotid artery and right braciocephalic artery after 21.5 ± 1.6 mm. The vascular anatomy was found to be consistent among animals despite a wide range of animal weights.


      Conclusions
      The consistency in the Papio anubis extracranial carotid system may promote the use of this species in the preclinical investigation of neuro-interventional therapies.