A suspected diagnosis of thrombosis of the internal carotid artery is probably unequivocal if the carotid pulse is found to be absent in the neck and pharynx. The presence of a pulse, however, is not incompatible with the diagnosis and may mean only that the thrombosis is distal to the point of palpation or that one is feeling a transmitted pulse. If the diagnosis is suspected clinically and yet the carotid pulse is palpable in the neck or pharynx, then angiography may be applied.