The infraorbital artery is a small

artery An artery () is a blood vessel in humans and most other animals that takes oxygenated blood away from the heart in the systemic circulation to one or more parts of the body. Exceptions that carry deoxygenated blood are the pulmonary arteries in ...

in the head that arises from the

maxillary artery The maxillary artery (eg, internal maxillary artery) supplies deep structures of the face. It branches from the external carotid artery just deep to the neck of the mandible. Structure The maxillary artery, the larger of the two terminal branches ...

and passes through the

inferior orbital fissure The inferior orbital fissure is a gap between the Greater wing of sphenoid bone, greater wing of sphenoid bone, and the maxilla. It connects the Orbit (anatomy), orbit (anteriorly) with the infratemporal fossa and pterygopalatine fossa (posterio ...

to enter the

orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit (also known as orbital revolution) is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an ...

, then passes forward along the floor of the orbit, finally exiting the orbit through the

infraorbital foramen In human anatomy, the infraorbital foramen is one of two small holes in the skull's upper jawbone ( maxillary bone), located below the eye socket and to the left and right of the nose. Both holes are used for blood vessels and nerves. In anatomic ...

to reach the face.

Anatomy

Origin

The infraorbital artery arises from the

; it often arises in conjunction with the posterior superior alveolar artery. It may be considered a continuation of the third part of the maxillary artery and continues the direction of the maxillary artery.

Course

It passes anterior-ward to enter the

through the

. In the orbit, it courses along the floor of the orbit with the

infraorbital nerve The infraorbital nerve is a branch of the maxillary nerve (itself a branch of the trigeminal nerve (CN V)). It arises in the pterygopalatine fossa. It passes through the inferior orbital fissure to enter the orbit. It travels through the orbit, ...

first along the

infraorbital groove The infraorbital groove (or sulcus) is located in the middle of the posterior part of the orbital surface of the maxilla. Its function is to act as the passage of the infraorbital artery, the infraorbital vein, and the infraorbital nerve. Struc ...

and then the infraorbital canal. It exits the orbit (with the

) through

to reach the face, beneath the infraorbital head of the levator labii superioris muscle.

Branches

While in the canal, it gives off: * Orbital branches - assist in supplying the inferior rectus and inferior oblique and the

lacrimal sac The lacrimal sac or lachrymal sac is the upper dilated end of the nasolacrimal duct, and is lodged in a deep groove formed by the lacrimal bone and frontal process of the maxilla. It connects the lacrimal canaliculi, which drain tears from th ...

. * Anterior superior alveolar artery - supplies upper/maxillary canine and incisor teeth. * Middle superior alveolar artery - upper/maxillary canine and incisor teeth. May be absent. On the face, some branches pass upward to the medial angle of the orbit and the lacrimal sac, anastomosing with the

angular artery The angular artery is an artery of the face. It is the terminal part of the facial artery. It ascends to the medial angle of the eye's orbit. It is accompanied by the angular vein. It ends by anastomosing with the dorsal nasal branch of the o ...

, a branch of the

facial artery The facial artery, formerly called the external maxillary artery, is a branch of the external carotid artery that supplies blood to superficial structures of the medial regions of the face. Structure The facial artery arises in the carotid t ...

; others run toward the nose, anastomosing with the dorsal nasal branch of the

ophthalmic artery The ophthalmic artery (OA) is an artery of the head. It is the first branch of the internal carotid artery distal to the cavernous sinus. Branches of the ophthalmic artery supply all the structures in the orbit around the eye, as well as some ...

; and others descend between the levator labii superioris and the levator anguli oris, and anastomose with the

, transverse facial artery, and buccal artery. The four remaining branches arise from that portion of the maxillary artery which is contained in the

pterygopalatine fossa In human anatomy, the pterygopalatine fossa (sphenopalatine fossa) is a fossa in the skull. A human skull contains two pterygopalatine fossae—one on the left side, and another on the right side. Each fossa is a cone-shaped paired depression dee ...

Additional images

File:Gray474.png, Diagram showing the origins of the main branches of the carotid arteries. File:Gray515.png, Bloodvessels of the eyelids, front view.

References

External links

* () {{Authority control Arteries of the head and neck