The inferior hypophysial artery is an artery in the head. It is a branch of the cavernous carotid artery, itself from 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 ...

. It supplies the

posterior pituitary The posterior pituitary (or neurohypophysis) is the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland which is part of the endocrine system. The posterior pituitary is not glandular as is the anterior pituitary. Instead, it is largely a collection of axonal ...

of the

pituitary gland In vertebrate anatomy, the pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland, about the size of a chickpea and weighing, on average, in humans. It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain. The ...

Structure

The inferior hypophysial artery is a branch of the cavernous carotid artery, itself from the

. Alternatively, it may arise from the meningohypophyseal artery. It passes across the middle of the

cavernous sinus The cavernous sinus within the human head is one of the dural venous sinuses creating a cavity called the lateral sellar compartment bordered by the temporal bone of the skull and the sphenoid bone, lateral to the sella turcica. Structure The cave ...

. It reaches the lateral surface of the posterior pituitary. It merges with the other inferior hypophysial artery. The inferior hypophysial artery may give off the medial clival artery.

Function

The inferior hypophysial artery supplies the

, specifically the

(neurohypophysis). It is important for distributing

vasopressin Human vasopressin, also called antidiuretic hormone (ADH), arginine vasopressin (AVP) or argipressin, is a hormone synthesized from the AVP gene as a peptide prohormone in neurons in the hypothalamus, and is converted to AVP. It then travel ...

into the bloodstream.

History

The inferior hypophysial artery was first identified in 1860 by

Hubert von Luschka Hubert is a Germanic masculine given name, from ''hug'' "mind" and ''beraht'' "bright". It also occurs as a surname. Saint Hubertus or Hubert (c. 656 – 30 May 727) is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and metalworkers. ...

References

{{Authority control Arteries of the head and neck