The facial artery (external maxillary artery in older texts) is a branch of the

external carotid artery The external carotid artery is a major artery of the head and neck. It arises from the common carotid artery when it splits into the external and internal carotid artery. External carotid artery supplies blood to the face and neck. Structure T ...

that supplies structures of the superficial face.

Structure

The facial artery arises in the carotid triangle from the

, a little above the

lingual artery The lingual artery arises from the external carotid artery between the superior thyroid artery and facial artery. It can be located easily in the tongue. Structure The lingual artery first branches off from the external carotid artery. It runs ...

and, sheltered by the

ramus 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 bone ...

. It passes obliquely up beneath the digastric and

stylohyoid The stylohyoid muscle is a slender muscle, lying anterior and superior of the posterior belly of the digastric muscle. It is one of the suprahyoid muscles. It shares this muscle's innervation by the facial nerve, and functions to draw the hyoid ...

muscles, over which it arches to enter a groove on the posterior surface of 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 stimul ...

. It then curves upward over the body of the mandible at the antero-inferior angle of the

masseter In human anatomy, the masseter is one of the muscles of mastication. Found only in mammals, it is particularly powerful in herbivores to facilitate chewing of plant matter. The most obvious muscle of mastication is the masseter muscle, since it ...

; passes forward and upward across the cheek to the angle of the mouth, then ascends along the side of the nose, and ends at the medial commissure of the eye, under the name of 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 ...

. The facial artery is remarkably tortuous. This is to accommodate itself to neck movements such as those of the

pharynx The pharynx (plural: pharynges) is the part of the throat behind the mouth and nasal cavity, and above the oesophagus and trachea (the tubes going down to the stomach and the lungs). It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates, though its st ...

in deglutition; and facial movements such as those 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 bone ...

lip The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...

s, and cheeks. Facial artery

Relations

In the neck, its origin is superficial, being covered by the integument,

platysma The platysma muscle is a superficial muscle of the human neck that overlaps the sternocleidomastoid. It covers the anterior surface of the neck superficially. When it contracts, it produces a slight wrinkling of the neck, and a "bowstring" effec ...

, and fascia; it then passes beneath the digastric and

muscles and part of the

, but superficial to the

hypoglossal nerve The hypoglossal nerve, also known as the twelfth cranial nerve, cranial nerve XII, or simply CN XII, is a cranial nerve that innervates all the extrinsic and intrinsic muscles of the tongue except for the palatoglossus, which is innervated ...

. It lies upon the

middle pharyngeal constrictor The middle pharyngeal constrictor is a fan-shaped muscle located in the neck. It is one of three pharyngeal constrictors. Similarly to the superior and inferior pharyngeal constrictor muscles, the middle pharyngeal constrictor is innervated by a ...

and the superior pharyngeal constrictor, the latter of which separates it, at the summit of its arch, from the lower and back part of the tonsil. On the face, where it passes over the body of the mandible, it is comparatively superficial, lying immediately beneath the dilators of the mouth. In its course over the face, it is covered by the integument, the fat of the cheek, and, near the angle of the mouth, by the

risorius The risorius muscle is a muscle of facial expression. It arises from the fascia over the parotid gland, and inserts into the angle of the mouth. It is supplied by the facial nerve (CN VII). It may be absent or asymmetrical in some people. It retr ...

, and zygomaticus major. It rests on the buccinator and

levator anguli oris The levator anguli oris (caninus) is a facial muscle of the mouth arising from the canine fossa, immediately below the infraorbital foramen. It elevates angle of mouth medially. Its fibers are inserted into the angle of the mouth, intermingli ...

, and passes either over or under the infraorbital head of the

levator labii superioris The levator labii superioris (pl. ''levatores labii superioris'', also called quadratus labii superioris, pl. ''quadrati labii superioris'') is a muscle of the human body used in facial expression. It is a broad sheet, the origin of which extend ...

. The

anterior facial vein Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

lies lateral/posterior to the artery, and takes a more direct course across the face, where it is separated from the artery by a considerable interval. In the neck it lies superficial to the artery. The branches of the

facial nerve The facial nerve, also known as the seventh cranial nerve, cranial nerve VII, or simply CN VII, is a cranial nerve that emerges from the pons of the brainstem, controls the muscles of facial expression, and functions in the conveyance of taste ...

cross the artery from behind forward. The facial artery anastomoses with (among others) the

dorsal nasal artery The dorsal nasal artery is an artery of the face. It is one of the two terminal branches of the ophthalmic artery. It contributes arterial supply to the lacrimal sac, and outer surface of the nose. Structure Origin The dorsal nasal artery is on ...

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 ...

Branches

The branches of the facial artery are: * cervical **

Ascending palatine artery The ascending palatine artery is an artery in the head that branches off the facial artery and runs up the superior pharyngeal constrictor muscle. Structure The ascending palatine artery arises close to the origin of the facial artery and passes u ...

** Tonsillar branch **

Submental artery The submental artery is a branch of the facial artery that runs on the underside of the chin. Course The submental artery is the largest of the cervical branches of the facial artery, given off just as that vessel leaves the submandibular gland: ...

** Glandular branches * facial ** Inferior labial artery ** Superior labial artery ** Lateral nasal branch to nasalis muscle **

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 ...

- the terminal branch

Muscles

Muscles supplied by the facial artery include: * buccinator *

levator labii superioris alaeque nasi The levator labii superioris alaeque nasi muscle is, translated from Latin, the "lifter of both the upper lip and of the wing of the nose". It has the longest name of any muscle in an animal. The muscle is attached to the upper frontal process o ...

levator veli palatini The levator veli palatini () is the elevator muscle of the soft palate in the human body. It is supplied via the pharyngeal plexus. During swallowing, it contracts, elevating the soft palate to help prevent food from entering the nasopharynx. ...

mentalis The mentalis muscle is a paired central muscle of the lower lip, situated at the tip of the chin. It originates from the mentum of the mandible, and inserts into the soft tissue of the chin. It is sometimes referred to as the "pouting muscle" due ...

* mylohyoid * nasalis * palatoglossus *

palatopharyngeus The palatopharyngeus (palatopharyngeal or pharyngopalatinus) muscle is a small muscle in the roof of the mouth. It is a long, fleshy fasciculus, narrower in the middle than at either end, forming, with the mucous membrane covering its surface, the ...

* procerus *

* styloglossus *

transverse Transverse may refer to: *Transverse engine, an engine in which the crankshaft is oriented side-to-side relative to the wheels of the vehicle * Transverse flute, a flute that is held horizontally * Transverse force (or ''Euler force''), the tange ...

portion of the nasalis

Clinical significance

The facial artery may be punctured during maxillofacial surgery, and is likely to

haemorrhage Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, v ...

significantly.

Additional images

Image:Gray176.png, Mandible. Outer surface. Side view. Image:Gray474.png, Diagram showing the origins of the main branches of the carotid arteries. Image:Gray507.png, Superficial dissection of the right side of the neck, showing the carotid and subclavian arteries. Image:Gray515.png, Bloodvessels of the eyelids, front view. Image:Gray1210.png, Side of neck, showing chief surface markings. File:Slide12ss.JPG, Facial artery File:Slide2tt.JPG, Facial artery File:Slide5ww.JPG, Facial artery File:Slide6ww.JPG, Facial artery File:Slide4aaa.JPG, Facial artery File:Slide11aaa.JPG, Facial artery File:Slide12aaa.JPG, Facial artery File:Slide22aaa.JPG, Facial artery File:Slide2fff.JPG, Facial artery File:Slide4ggg.JPG, Facial artery File:Slide1jjj.JPG, Facial artery File:Slide6yyyy.JPG, Facial artery File:Slide4BBB.JPG, Facial artery File:Slide28ior.JPG, Facial artery.Deep dissection.Lateral view.

References

External links

* * - "The Facial Artery and Vein" * - "Branches of the external carotid artery." * - "Common Carotid Artery and Branches of the External Carotid Artery" {{Authority control Arteries of the head and neck

Artery An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry oxygenated blood; the two exceptions are the pu ...