The inferior labial artery (inferior labial branch of facial artery) arises near the angle of the
mouth
In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
as a branch of the
facial artery; it passes upward and forward beneath the
triangularis and, penetrating the
orbicularis oris
In human anatomy, the orbicularis oris muscle is a complex of muscles in the lips that encircles the mouth.
It is a sphincter, or circular muscle, but it is actually composed of four independent quadrants that interlace and give only an appearance ...
, runs in a tortuous course along the edge of the lower lip between this muscle and the mucous membrane.
It supplies the
labial glands, the
mucous membrane
A mucous membrane or mucosa is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body of an organism and covers the surface of internal organs. It consists of one or more layers of epithelial cells overlying a layer of loose connective tissue. It i ...
, and the muscles of the
lower 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 ...
; and anastomoses with the artery of the opposite side, and with the mental branch of the
inferior alveolar artery.
Additional images
File:Lateral head anatomy detail.jpg, Lateral head anatomy detail
File:Head ap anatomy.jpg, Head anatomy anterior view
File:Slide2bbb.JPG, Inferior labial artery
References
External links
* - "Superficial arteries of the face."
* http://www.dartmouth.edu/~humananatomy/figures/chapter_47/47-5.HTM
Arteries of the head and neck
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