The submental artery is a branch of the

facial artery The facial artery (external maxillary artery in older texts) is a branch of the external carotid artery that supplies structures of the superficial face. Structure The facial artery arises in the carotid triangle from the external carotid arter ...

that runs on the underside of the

chin The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible ( mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm. Evolution The presence of a well-developed chin is considered to be one ...

Course

The submental artery is the largest of the cervical branches of the

, given off just as that vessel leaves the

submandibular gland The paired submandibular glands (historically known as submaxillary glands) are major salivary glands located beneath the floor of the mouth. They each weigh about 15 grams and contribute some 60–67% of unstimulated saliva secretion; on stimula ...

: it runs forward upon the mylohyoid, just below the body of the

mandible In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movable bon ...

, and beneath the digastric muscle. It supplies the surrounding muscles, and anastomoses with the sublingual artery and with the mylohyoid branch of the

inferior alveolar artery The inferior alveolar artery (inferior dental artery) is an artery of the face. It is a branch of the first portion of the maxillary artery. Structure It descends with the inferior alveolar nerve to the mandibular foramen on the medial surface of ...

; at the symphysis menti it turns upward over the border of the mandible. The submental vessels also supply a territory of skin in the submental area. Surgeons can use the skin and vessels in reconstruction of the face or the oral cavity.

Branching

When the submental artery turns upward over the border of the mandible it divides into a superficial and a deep branch. * The ''superficial branch'' passes between the integument and

depressor labii inferioris The depressor labii inferioris (or quadratus labii inferioris) is a facial muscle. It helps to lower the bottom lip. Structure The depressor labii inferioris muscle arises from the lateral surface of the mandible. This is below the mental fo ...

, and anastomoses with the

inferior labial artery The inferior labial artery (inferior labial branch of facial artery) arises near the angle of the mouth as a branch of the facial artery; it passes upward and forward beneath the triangularis and, penetrating the orbicularis oris, runs in a tortu ...

. * The ''deep branch'' runs between the muscle and the bone, supplies the lip, and anastomoses with the

and the mental branch of the

Additional images

File:Gray507.png, Superficial dissection of the right side of the neck, showing the carotid and subclavian arteries. File:Slide1fff.JPG, Submental artery File:Slide4hhh.JPG, Submental artery

References

{{Authority control Arteries of the head and neck