## 4 Discussion  
Understanding variations in the origins and locations of branches of the ECA can help to guide surgeons in planning and performing neck surgeries, as these branches serve as important landmarks for adequate exposure and dissection of the carotid artery. Therefore, knowledge of these variations can help to minimize the risk of complications during surgical procedures in the neck region. Understanding the prevalence and existence of anatomical variations is crucial, particularly for oral and oncologic procedures that may require ligation of the LA or TLT to prevent excessive bleeding. As compared to the existing literature, our study's findings showed that the Type I configuration was the most common variation (82%), which is consistent with previous studies by [PERSON] et al. (2020), [PERSON] et al. (2018) and [PERSON] et al. (2005) [2; 4; 10]. Authors of reports, however, have reported both a higher prevalence (90%) and a lower (65%) prevalence of this variation ([PERSON] et al. (2008) and [PERSON] et al. (1999),  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \begin{tabular}{c} **Variation** \\ **Type** \\ \end{tabular}  & \begin{tabular}{c} **Right n (\%)** \\ **(n = 50)** \\ \end{tabular}  & \begin{tabular}{c} **Left n (\%)** \\ **(n = 50)** \\ \end{tabular}  & \begin{tabular}{c} **Female** \\ **n (\%)** \\ **(n = 24)** \\ \end{tabular}  & \begin{tabular}{c} **Male n (\%)** \\ **(n = 76)** \\ \end{tabular}  & \begin{tabular}{c} **Total n (\%)** \\ **(n = 100)** \\ \end{tabular}  \\ \hline \ \begin{tabular}{c} Ia \\ ID \\ IC \\ IIa \\ ID \\ IC \\ IIb \\ IC \\ IIc \\ IIb \\ IC \\ IIc \\ IV \\ Unclassified \\ \end{tabular}  &
\begin{tabular}{c} 20 (40) \\ 18 (28) \\ 14 (28) \\ 18 (28) \\ 14  
respectively) [8, 19]. The prevalence of a common trunk arising from the anterior ECA branches also varies significantly in the literature [4, 7]. Previous studies have reported that type II (TLT) occurs in 1 to 3% of cases [3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25]. In our study, we also observed a prevalence of 1%, which is consistent with the literature. Previous studies have described type III (LFT) as the most common variation in the common trunk, with an incidence ranging from 7.5% to 31% [3, 4, 7, 8, 18, 20, 24]. In our study, we observed a 16% incidence of type III, which is similar to the findings reported by other studies such as those of [PERSON] et al. (2018) (20%), [PERSON] et al. (2006) (19.9%), and [PERSON] et al. (2005) (20%) (2,21,26). Unfortunately, we did not find any TLFTs (Type IV). According to the literature, this is the rarest configuration of the variations described by [PERSON] [2, 4, 6, 7, 27]. We encountered a unique instance of carotid artery branching that was not covered by existing classification systems. Specifically, we observed pentafurcation, in which the superior thyroid artery (STA), the lingual artery (LA), and the facial artery (FA) arose directly from the common carotid artery (CCA) just prior to the carotid bifurcation (CB) (Figures 4 and 5). Based on the discovery of this unique branching pattern, it may be appropriate to consider updating the current classification system. We propose adding a new subtype for each type of configuration, in which all the anterior branches (STA, LA, and FA) arise directly from the common carotid artery before the carotid bifurcation (CB). Additionally, [PERSON] et al. (1996) previously reported a similar configuration in which the LA and FA originated as a common trunk (LFT) before the CB [28]. These findings support the introduction of a new subgroup for each type of configuration: Subtype Id for configurations in which STA, LA, and FA arise as separate branches before the CB, Subtype IId for configurations in which the TLT and FA originate before the CB, Subtype IId for configurations in which STA and LFT originate before the CB, and Subtype IVb for configurations in which the TLFT originates before the CB.