Let's just say you are working in a rural ED when a healthy 27 y/o male comes into your ED with fever, sore throat and a muffled voice and is diagnosed with a peritonsillar abscess. You decide to drain the PTA on your own since most patients can be treated by a single needle aspiration. After providing sufficient local anesthesia for your patient you get ready to aspirate the abscess cavity. Remembering back to anatomy lecture, you realize that the carotid artery lies lateral and posterior to the posterior edge of the tonsil and want to make sure to avoid that area.