The external branch is susceptible to damage during thyroidectomy or cricothyrotomy, as it lies immediately deep to the superior thyroid artery.

Superior thyroid artery-(arise from anterior aspect)

The infrahyoid branch of superior thyroid artery (or hyoid artery) is small artery in the neck.

The lingual artery arises from the external carotid between the superior thyroid artery and facial artery.

This artery branches from the superior thyroid artery near its bifurcation from the external carotid artery.

It is a branch of the superior thyroid artery and it runs along the lower border of the hyoid bone beneath the thyrohyoid muscle.

Glandular branches of the superior thyroid artery (rami glandulares arteriae thyroideae superioris)

Across its upper border runs an anastomotic branch uniting the two superior thyroid arteries; at its lower border are the inferior thyroid veins.

The arteries supplying the thymus are derived from the internal thoracic artery, and from the superior thyroid artery and inferior thyroids.

The cricothyroid branch of superior thyroid artery is small and runs transversely across the cricothyroid membrane, communicating with the artery of the opposite side.

However they may also be supplied by the branches of the superior thyroid arteries; the thyroid ima artery; or the laryngeal, tracheal and esophageal artery.

The superior thyroid artery arises from the external carotid artery just below the level of the greater cornu of the hyoid bone and ends in the thyroid gland.

The vascular supply to the hypopharynx includes the Superior Thyroid Artery, the Lingual Artery and the Ascending Pharyngeal Artery.

Divide the superior thyroid artery and vein close to the thyroid gland (avoid injury to the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve and the superior parathyroid gland)

While studies have concluded that most subjects' parathyoid glands are supplied by the thyroid arteries, up to 45% have been determined to have a "distinct anastomosing branch between the inferior and the superior thyroid arteries."

Reaching the lower border of the thyroid gland it divides into two branches, which supply the postero-inferior parts of the gland, and anastomose with the superior thyroid artery, and with the corresponding artery of the opposite side.

The superior thyroid vein begins in the substance and on the surface of the thyroid gland, by tributaries corresponding with the branches of the superior thyroid artery, and ends in the upper part of the internal jugular vein.

The sternocleidomastoid branch of superior thyroid artery runs downward and lateralward across the sheath of the common carotid artery, and supplies the Sternocleidomastoideus and neighboring muscles and integument; it frequently arises as a separate branch from the external carotid.

The common carotid usually gives off no branch previous to its bifurcation, but it occasionally gives origin to the superior thyroid artery or its laryngeal branch, the ascending pharyngeal artery, the inferior thyroid artery, or, more rarely, the vertebral artery.

The thyroid is supplied with arterial blood from the superior thyroid artery, a branch of the external carotid artery, and the inferior thyroid artery, a branch of the thyrocervical trunk, and sometimes by the thyroid ima artery, branching directly from the subclavian artery.