Face Arterial supply- Facial artery and other arteries

Name the arteries that supply Face.

Face is a highly vascular region and is supplied by the following arteries:

• Facial artery: It is the main artery that supplies to the face. It is a branch of external carotid artery.
• Transverse facial artery: It is a branch of superficial temporal artery which arises within the parotid gland. It emerges along the anterior border of parotid gland and runs forwards on the masseter between the zygomatic arch and the parotid duct.
• Arteries that accompany the cutaneous nerves viz.
  • supratrochlear artery( br. of ophthalmic artery)
  • supraorbital artery (br. of ophthalamic artery)
  • infraorbital artery (br. of maxillary artery)
  • buccal artery(br. of maxillary artery)
  • mental artery(br. of inferior alveolar artery -branch of maxillary artery)

 Describe origin, course and branches of Facial Artery .

Facial artery

• It is one of the anterior branches of external carotid artery.
• It arises in the carotid triangle at the level of greater cornu of the hyoid bone.  
• Its course is divided into two parts – Cervical and facial.

Cervical part :

• It follows a looped course in the submandibular region.
•  It gives four branches viz.
  • Ascending palatine
  • Tonsillar
  • Glandular (to submandibular gland)
  • Submental.

Facial part:

•  the facial artery enters face by crossing base of mandible at the anteroinferior angle of the masseter  muscle by piercing the investing layer of deep cervical fascia. It then runs upwards and forwards towards angle of mouth (1.25cm. lateral to angle of mouth).
• Then it ascends by the side of the nose up to the medial angle of the eye.
•  It terminates as angular artery at the medial angle of eye.
• It gives four named branches from its anterior aspect and many unnamed muscular branches from its posterior aspect.  the named branches are: 
  • Inferior labial artery supplies the lower lip.
  • Superior labial artery supplies the upper lip.
  • Lateral nasal artery supplies the ala and dorsum of  nose. 
• Labial branches of facial arteries anastomose across the midline with the branches of the opposite side in the lips.
• At the medial angle of the eye, its terminal branch i.e. angular artery anastomoses with the dorsal nasal branch of ophthalmic artery (a branch of internal carotid artery). Thus it is the site of anastomosis between the branches of external and internal carotid arteries.

 Applied Aspects