NMS Diagnosis I Palmer Exam 3 Practice Test

Giant cell arteritis is a large- and medium-vessel vasculitis that preferentially affects arteries in the head. The vessels most characteristically involved are the large and medium arteries of the head, especially the branches of the external carotid artery such as the temporal artery. This pattern explains why that option is the best. The coronary and pulmonary arteries are not the typical primary targets in this condition, and cerebral veins are venous structures, not arterial, so they aren’t the usual sites affected by GCA.