Long posterior ciliary arteries
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The long posterior ciliary arteries are
arteries 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 pul ...
of the head arising, together with the other
ciliary arteries The ciliary arteries are divisible into three groups, the long posterior, short posterior, and the anterior. * The short posterior ciliary arteries from six to twelve in number, arise from the ophthalmic artery as it crosses the optic nerve. * The ...
, from the
ophthalmic artery The ophthalmic artery (OA) is an artery of the head. It is the first branch of the internal carotid artery distal to the cavernous sinus. Branches of the ophthalmic artery supply all the structures in the orbit around the eye, as well as some st ...
. There are two in each eye.


Course

They pierce the posterior part of the
sclera The sclera, also known as the white of the eye or, in older literature, as the tunica albuginea oculi, is the opaque, fibrous, protective, outer layer of the human eye containing mainly collagen and some crucial elastic fiber. In humans, and som ...
at some little distance from the
optic nerve In neuroanatomy, the optic nerve, also known as the second cranial nerve, cranial nerve II, or simply CN II, is a paired cranial nerve that transmits visual system, visual information from the retina to the brain. In humans, the optic nerve i ...
, and run forward, along either side of the
eyeball Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conve ...
, between the sclera and
choroid The choroid, also known as the choroidea or choroid coat, is a part of the uvea, the vascular layer of the eye, and contains connective tissues, and lies between the retina and the sclera. The human choroid is thickest at the far extreme rear ...
, to the
ciliary muscle The ciliary muscle is an intrinsic muscle of the eye formed as a ring of smooth muscleSchachar, Ronald A. (2012). "Anatomy and Physiology." (Chapter 4) . in the eye's middle layer, uvea ( vascular layer). It controls accommodation for viewing ...
, where they divide into two branches. These form an arterial circle, the
circulus arteriosus major Major arterial circle of the iris" (also: "major circulus arteriosus of iris", or "circulus arteriosus iridis major") is a circular artery of the eye formed by anastomoses of the anterior ciliary arteries and long posterior ciliary arteries at the ...
, around the circumference of the iris, from which numerous converging branches run, in the substance of the iris, to its pupillary margin, where they form a second (incomplete) arterial circle, the circulus arteriosus minor.


Target

The long posterior ciliary arteries supply the
iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...
,
ciliary body The ciliary body is a part of the eye that includes the ciliary muscle, which controls the shape of the lens, and the ciliary epithelium, which produces the aqueous humor. The aqueous humor is produced in the non-pigmented portion of the ciliar ...
and
choroid The choroid, also known as the choroidea or choroid coat, is a part of the uvea, the vascular layer of the eye, and contains connective tissues, and lies between the retina and the sclera. The human choroid is thickest at the far extreme rear ...
.


See also

*
Short posterior ciliary arteries The short posterior ciliary arteries, around twenty in number, arise from the medial posterior ciliary artery and lateral posterior ciliary artery, which are branches of the ophthalmic artery as it crosses the optic nerve. Course and target They p ...


References


External links

Arteries of the head and neck {{circulatory-stub