Posterior ethmoidal artery
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Artery: Posterior ethmoidal artery | |
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The ophthalmic artery and its branches. (Anterior and posterior ethmoid labeled at left.) | |
Latin | a. ethmoidalis posterior |
Gray's | subject #146 570 |
Source | ophthalmic artery |
Dorlands/Elsevier | a_61/12154258 |
The posterior ethmoidal artery, smaller than the anterior ethmoidal artery, branches off from the ophthalmic artery when it reaches the medial wall of the orbit. It passes between the upper border of the medial rectus muscle and superior oblique muscle to pass through the posterior ethmoidal canal, to supply posterior ethmoidal cells, and, entering the cranium, gives off a meningeal branch to the dura mater, and nasal branches which descend into the nasal cavity through apertures in the cribriform plate, anastomosing with branches of the sphenopalatine.
This artery supplies the posterior ethmoidal air sinuses, dura of the anterior cranial fossa, and the upper part of the nasal mucosa.
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.