Walsh & Hoyt: Paragangliomas of the Head and Neck (Chemodectomas)

In 1762, Albrecht von Haller described the carotid bodies. These masses of tissue, which have also been called ""glomus caroticum"" because of their oval shape (from the Latin glomus, a ball), are located just above the bifurcation of the common carotid artery on each side. Each carotid body is reddish-brown in color, invested with a fibrous capsule, and measures about 5 mm in length. The cells that compose the carotid bodies originate from the neural crest and are of two types: granule-storing chief cells that contain and secrete catecholamines and are thought to represent modified neurons, and Schwann-like satellite cells. Similar masses of cells are located adjacent to the aortic arch and are called aortic bodies.