A method for automated segmentation of a blood vessel of a head and neck of a subject in a medical image, the method comprising: identifying the location of anatomical landmarks in the medical image; identifying regions of interest in the medical image based on the landmarks; segmenting segments of blood vessels in the medical image; classifying at least one of the segments as defining the blood vessel based on its position relative to the landmarks within the regions of interest to create a classified blood vessel; identifying a starting seed for the blood vessel from the classified blood vessel; identifying an ending seed for the blood vessel from the classified blood vessel; segmenting the blood vessel between the starting seed and the ending seed; and defining a path between the starting seed and the ending seed.