Internal carotid artery stenosis with ipsilateral persistent hypoglossal artery presenting as a multiterritorial embolic infarction: a case report.

Persistent hypoglossal artery (PHA) is a relatively rare vascular anomaly of persistent carotid-basilar anastomosis. We have treated a patient with stenosis of the internal carotid artery which was combined with PHA and who presented with multiple small embolic infarcts in multiple vascular territories. It is important to know that a persistent carotid-basilar anastomosis could be one of the causes bringing about acute infarction in both the anterior and posterior vascular territories, mimicking cardioembolism.