Artery of face

ARTERIES OF THE FACE

Features Facial Artery Branches Anastomoses Clinical Anatomy Transverse Facial

1 Features

The face is richly vascular.

It is supplied by:

  1. Facial artery
  2. Transverse facial artery
  3. Arteries accompanying the cutaneous nerves.

These are small branches of:

  • Ophthalmic artery
  • Maxillary artery
  • Superficial temporal artery

2 Facial Artery

  • Facial artery is the chief artery of the face.
  • It is a branch of the external carotid artery.
  • It arises from the external carotid artery in the carotid triangle, just above the level of the tip of the greater cornua of the hyoid bone.
  • In its cervical course, it passes through the submandibular region and finally enters the face.

Course

  1. Facial artery enters the face by:
    • Winding around the base of the mandible.
    • Piercing the deep cervical fascia at the anteroinferior angle of the masseter muscle.
    • It can be palpated here and is called the “anaesthetic’s artery.”
  2. It first runs upwards and forwards to a point about 1.25 cm lateral to the angle of the mouth.
  3. It then ascends as the angular artery along the side of the nose up to the medial angle of the eye.
  4. At the medial angle of the eye:
    • Angular artery terminates by supplying the lacrimal sac.
    • It anastomoses with the dorsal nasal branch of the ophthalmic artery.
Note:
  • Facial artery is very tortuous.
  • Tortuosity prevents its walls from being unduly stretched during movements of:
    • Mandible
    • Lips
    • Cheeks
  • It lies between the superficial and deep muscles of the face.

3 Branches of Facial Artery

The anterior branches on the face are large and named:

1. Inferior labial artery
  • To the lower lip.
2. Superior labial artery
  • To the upper lip.
  • To the anteroinferior part of the nasal septum.
3. Lateral nasal artery
  • To the ala and dorsum of the nose.
4. Angular artery

The posterior branches are small and unnamed.

4 Anastomoses of Facial Artery

1. Large Anterior Branches

The large anterior branches anastomose with:

  • Similar branches of the opposite side.
  • Mental artery.
  • In the lips, anastomoses are large.
  • Therefore, cut arteries spurt from both ends.

2. Small Posterior Branches

Small posterior branches anastomose with:

  • Transverse facial artery.
  • Infraorbital artery.

3. At the Medial Angle of the Eye

  • Terminal branches of facial artery anastomose with branches of the ophthalmic artery.
  • Therefore, this is a site for anastomoses between branches of:
    • External carotid arteries.
    • Internal carotid arteries.

5 Clinical Anatomy

Pulsation of Facial Artery

Pulsation can be felt at two sites:

  1. At the base of mandible along the anteroinferior angle of masseter.
  2. About 1.25 cm lateral to the angle of mouth.

Rich vascularity of the face helps in rapid healing of wounds.

6 Transverse Facial Artery

  • It is a small artery.
  • It is a branch of the superficial temporal artery.

Course

  • After emerging from the parotid gland, it runs forwards over the masseter.
  • It passes between:
    • Parotid duct.
    • Zygomatic arch.
  • It is accompanied by the upper buccal branch of the facial nerve.

Supply

It supplies:

  • Parotid gland.
  • Parotid duct.
  • Masseter.
  • Overlying skin.

Termination

  • Ends by anastomosing with neighbouring arteries.