Color doppler ultrasound of carotid and vertebral vessels: Anatomy, technique and reporting

Abstract

Color Doppler study of carotid and vertebral arteries is a non-invasive, reliable and also easily available, cost-effective method for screening and follows up of patients at risk of stroke to differentiate patients need surgery or intervention from whom could be followed by medical management. I reviewed anatomy of cervical arteries and different techniques such as B- mode or gray scale scanning, color flow mapping and spectral analysis for evaluation of both carotid and vertebral arteries.