Artery of brain from At a Glans

A Relevant paragraphs from The Human Anatomy at a Glans 2 nd edition http://amzn.com/0632059346

External carotid : starts : bifurcation of common carotid at the upper border of tyroid cartilage. External carotid : ends: bifurcation into maxillary and superior temporal. Btetween starts and end, branches are Lingual: External carotid: perfusing tong Facial:External carotid tonsillar branch perfusing face Occipital

>Common carotid brachiocephalic bifurcation into external and internal carotid >External carotid: end of common carotid bifurcation into maxillary and superficial temporal >Superior thyroid artery extrnal carotid throid tissue >Lingual artery extrnal carotid facial muscles >Occipital artery external carotid head skin >Maxillary artery external carotid >Superficial temporal artery

>Internal carotid artery bifurcation of common carotid trifurcation into Anterior cerebral artery, Middle cerebralartery, posterior communicationg artery anterior clinoid process >Opthalmic artery internal carotid artery >striate arteries middle cerebral artery basal ganglia >
 * Each common carotid passes up the neck in the carotid sheath along with the internal jugular vein and the vagus nerve.


 * At the level of the upper border of the thyroid cartilage', The common carotid artery divides into internal and external carotid arteries.
 * The common carotid artery (CC) has no branches but divide into two trunks.
 * The external carotid artery(CC-EC) Ascends in the neck a little in front of the internal carotid to divide into its two terminal branches.
 * The two terminal branches of external carotid artery are the maxillary artery (CC-EC-MA) and superficial temporal arteries(CC-EC-TA), in the substance of the parotid gland.


 * The superior thyroid artery (EC-SThy) is the first branch of external carotid artery.
 * The superior thyroid artery runs downwards on the side of the pharynx before passing forwards to the upper pole of the thyroid gland where it divides into two branches. The upper branch (upperSthy)follows the upper border of the gland towards the isthmus and the lower passes down the posterior border to anastomose with the inferior thyroid artery.
 * There are a number of branches raminating from superior thyroid artery to the larynx.


 * The lingual artery (EC-Sthy-Ling) arises from superior thyroid artery at the level of the tip of the greater horn of the hyoid and loops upwards for a short distance before running forward deep to hyoglossus to enter and supply the tongue.
 * It gives a number of dorsal lingual arteries.
 * The upward loop of the lingual artery is crossed by the hypoglossal nerve.

• The inferior alveolar artery aenters the mandibular canal to supply the teeth • The middle meningeal artery runs upwards to pass through the foramen spinosum.
 * The facial artery: travels forwards, deep to the mandible where it is embedded in the back of the submandibular gland.
 * The facial artery then curls round the lower border of the mandible to reach the face.
 * Here The facial artery follows a tortuous course at the side of the mouth and lateral to the nose to reach the medial angle of the eye where it anastomoses with branches of the ophthalmic artery.
 * The facial artery gives off a tonsillar branch in the neck, superior and inferior labial branches and nasal branches.
 * The facial arteries anastomose very freely across the midline and with other arteries on the face.
 * The occipital artery: passes backwards, medial to the mastoid process, and supplies the back of the scalp
 * The superficial temporal artery: emerges from the parotid gland and runs up in front of the ear where its pulsations may be felt.
 * The superficial temporal artery is distributed to the side of the scalp and the forehead
 * The maxillary artery: emerges from the parotid gland and passes deep to the neck of the mandible.
 * The maxillary artery ends by entering the pterygopalatine fossa through the pterygomaxillary fissure.
 * The maxillary artery's principal branches are to the local muscles including the deep temporal arteries to temporalis and:

• Branches which accompany the branches of the maxillary nerve in the pterygopalatine fossa and have the same names The internal carotid artery (Figs 59.2 and 59.3) At its origin from the common carotid artery it is enlarged to form the carotid sinus, a slight dilatation which has baroreceptors supplied by the glossopharyngeal nerve in its wall. Associated with this is the carotid body, a chemoreceptor supplied by the same nerve. The internal carotid has no branches in the neck. It enters the cranial cavity via the carotid canal in the petrous temporal bone, accompanied by a sympathetic plexus. Within the skull it passes forwards in the cavernous sinus and then turns backwards behind the anterior clinoid process to break up into its three terminal branches Branches: • The ophthalmic artery: enters the orbit through the superior orbital fissure and follows the nasociliary nerve. It gives the important central retinal artery which enters the optic nerve and supplies the retina. This is an end-artery so that occlusion causes immediate blindness. Other branches are described on p. 155
 * Inside the skull it passes laterally and then ascends on the squamous temporal bone in a deep groove, which it shares with the corresponding vein. The anterior branch passes upwards and backwards towards the vertex and the posterior branch passes backwards. It supplies the dura mater and the bones of the cranium. After head injuries it may bleed to produce a subdural haemorrhage, the symptoms of which may be delayed for some time after the injury


 * The anterior cerebral artery: winds round the genu of the corpus callosum and supplies the front and medial surfaces of the cerebral hemisphere. * The anterior cerebral artery anastomoses with its fellow of the opposite side
 * The middle cerebral artery: traverses the lateral sulcus on the lateral surface of the hemisphere and supplies the hemisphere (including the main motor and sensory areas) as well as giving the striate arteries which supply deep structures including the internal capsule
 * The posterior communicating artery: a small artery which passes backwards to join the posterior cerebral artery, a terminal branch of the vertebral artery
 * These arteries and the communications between them form the Circle of Willis so that there is (usually) free communication between the branches of the two internal carotid arteries across the midline
 * There is, however, considerable variation in the arrangement of the circle