The carotid arteries are two major blood vessels that run up the sides of your neck, one on the left and one on the right, carrying blood from your heart to your brain, face, and neck.

Simple location

  • Each common carotid artery starts deep in the lower neck/upper chest area, behind the collarbone region, and then travels upward within the neck on either side of the windpipe.
  • You can roughly feel the carotid pulse by gently placing two fingers just to the side of your Adam’s apple (or midline of the neck) and sliding slightly toward the side of the neck.
  • Around the level of the upper border of the thyroid cartilage (near the Adam’s apple, at about the 4th–5th cervical vertebra), each common carotid artery splits into an internal carotid (goes to the brain) and an external carotid (goes to the face and neck).

Key facts to keep in mind

  • You have two common carotid arteries, one on each side of the neck, and each divides into internal and external branches.
  • They are located deep to the sternocleidomastoid muscle (the big strap muscle you can see when you turn your head) and enclosed in a connective tissue sheath called the carotid sheath.
  • This area is clinically important because the carotid sinus and carotid body (pressure and chemical sensors in the vessel wall) sit near the point where the artery splits.

Safety note

  • Avoid pressing hard or massaging both sides of your neck at the same time; strong pressure on the carotid sinus can cause dizziness or fainting in some people.
  • If you have neck pain, dizziness, stroke‑like symptoms, or concerns about your carotid arteries, you should seek medical care urgently rather than trying to examine them yourself.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.