A rare occurrence of an accessory thyroid artery

During our traditional human cadaveric dissecting course we found a rare variation of the inferior thyroid artery off the thyrocervical trunk on the right side of the neck. The right superior thyroid artery was normal as was the vascular supply to the left lobe of the thyroid gland. This variation is not common, although it has been described in more detailed textbooks and case reports. However, it is important to be aware of the frequency of occurrence of arterial variations, because surgeons conducting thyroid gland surgery need to know which variations to anticipate.