The carotid arteries is used as a collective term for:
and its two terminal branches
These arteries provide the vast majority of the arterial supply to the head and neck region and central nervous system structures contained therein in most individuals.
History and etymology
The word carotid in the sense of a major neck artery was first recorded in English in 1667, and ultimately derives from the Greek word κάρος (karos) meaning stupor, as compression of the vessel induced "sleep" .