Figure 1

Creating a vascular circuit in the head and neck for corrosion casting. (A) Blue casting reagent is retrieved from a reservoir by a cardiac perfusion pump and introduced into the arterial circulation via an aortic cannula. After circulating through the head and neck, the venous effluent is collected via a cannula in the superior vena cava. White arrows indicate direction of fluid flow. (B) A Satinsky clamp (SC1) is placed on the ascending aorta (AA) proximal to the bicarotid trunk (BCT). Another is placed distal to the bicarotid trunk on the descending aorta (not seen). A third Satinsky clamp (SC3) is placed on the superior vena cava (SVC) just proximal to the right atrium (RA). One cannula (C1) is placed in the bicarotid trunk (BCT) and another (C2) is placed in the superior vena cava (SVC). (C) A change in skin colour from pink to blue denotes complete perfusion of casting reagent.