The caroticotympanic arteries (tympanic branch) are small branches of the

internal carotid artery The internal carotid artery (Latin: arteria carotis interna) is an artery in the neck which supplies the anterior circulation of the brain. In human anatomy, the internal and external carotids arise from the common carotid arteries, where these b ...

; they enter the

tympanic cavity The tympanic cavity is a small cavity surrounding the bones of the middle ear. Within it sit the ossicles, three small bones that transmit vibrations used in the detection of sound. Structure On its lateral surface, it abuts the external auditory ...

through a minute foramen in the

carotid canal The carotid canal is a passageway in the temporal bone of the skull through which the internal carotid artery enters the middle cranial fossa from the neck. Structure The carotid canal is located within the middle cranial fossa, at the petrou ...

, and anastomose with the

anterior tympanic branch The anterior tympanic artery (glaserian artery) is a small artery in the head that supplies the middle ear. It usually arises as a branch of the first part of the maxillary artery. It passes upward behind the temporomandibular articulation, enter ...

of the

internal maxillary The 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 of the external carotid artery, ...

, and with the posterior tympanic branch of the

stylomastoid artery The stylomastoid artery enters the stylomastoid foramen and supplies the tympanic cavity, the tympanic antrum and mastoid cells, and the semicircular canals. It is a branch of the posterior auricular artery, and thus part of the external caroti ...

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Arteries of the head and neck {{circulatory-stub

See also

External links