Abstract
Penetrating wounds of the vertebral artery is an extremely rare pathology; its weight is not large even among the damages of the cervical vessels. This life-threatening state due to its rarity is not always diagnosed in time, and in case of a timely diagnostics, it is a complicated task for a surgeon. The paper presents the data regarding prevalence of penetrating damages of the vertebral arteries, anatomy and development of these vessels, methods of diagnostics and treatment of these wounds as well as complications and outcomes.