Chassaignac tubercle (or tuberculum caroticum, the carotid tubercle) is the name given to the anterior tubercle of the transverse process of the sixth cervical vertebra against which the carotid artery may be compressed by the finger. A diagram of a thoracic vertebra. ... A diagram of a thoracic vertebra. ... The carotid artery is a major artery of the head and neck that supplies blood to the head and neck. ...

It is named for Charles Marie Édouard Chassaignac, French doctor.

The Chassaignac tubercle is used as a landmark by anesthesiologists for local anesthesia of the brachial plexus and the cervical plexus. An anesthesiologist (American English), or anaesthetist (British English), is a medical doctor trained to administer anesthesia. ... Local anesthesia is any technique to render part of the body insensitive to pain without affecting consciousness. ... The brachial plexus is an arrangement of nerve fibres (a plexus) running from the spine (vertebrae C5-T1), through the neck, the axilla (armpit region), and into the arm. ... The cervical plexus is a plexus of the ventral roots of the first four cervical spinal nerves. ...