In human anatomy, the stapedial branch of
posterior auricular artery, or stapedial artery for short, is a small artery supplying the
stapedius muscle in the
inner ear
The inner ear (internal ear, auris interna) is the innermost part of the vertebrate ear. In vertebrates, the inner ear is mainly responsible for sound detection and balance. In mammals, it consists of the bony labyrinth, a hollow cavity in the ...
.
Structure
In humans
In humans, the stapedial artery is normally present in the
fetus where it connects what is to become the
external and
internal carotid arteries.
Part of the carotid artery system, it originates from the dorsal branch of
aortic arch. Its superior supraorbital branch becomes the
middle meningeal artery, while its infraorbital and mandibular branches fuses with the external carotid artery and later become the
internal maxillary artery. Its trunk atrophies and is replaced by branches from the external carotid artery.
In rare cases, the embryonic structure is still present after birth in which case it is referred to as a persistent stapedial artery (PSA).
While the prevalence of this anomaly is unknown, it has been estimated to be present in 1 of 5,000 people.
In other mammals
Structures homologous to the stapedial artery in humans and other
primates
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...
can be derived from a primitive, hypothetical pattern similar to that found in primitive rodents: the stapedial artery enters the
middle cranial fossa and splits into the anterior and inferior divisions of the superior ramus and the inferior ramus. The inferior ramus has been lost in
strepsirhines while the stem of the stapedial artery has been reduced in
haplorhines
Haplorhini (), the haplorhines (Greek for "simple-nosed") or the "dry-nosed" primates, is a suborder of primates containing the tarsiers and the simians (Simiiformes or anthropoids), as sister of the Strepsirrhini ("moist-nosed"). The name is some ...
.
Notes
References
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{{Authority control
Arteries of the head and neck