Artery of pterygoid canal
Arteria canalis pterygoidei
A slender branch of the maxillary artery that runs backwards through the pterygoid canal at the base of the sphenoid bone.
At a glance
- English
- Artery of pterygoid canal
- Latin (TA2)
- Arteria canalis pterygoidei
- System
- Artery
- Region
- Head
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the artery of pterygoid canal
The artery of the pterygoid canal, often called the Vidian artery, is a small vessel of the deep face. It leaves the third part of the maxillary artery inside the pterygopalatine fossa, the narrow space behind the maxilla where that artery breaks up into its terminal branches.
From the fossa it passes backwards into the pterygoid canal, a tunnel through the root of the medial pterygoid plate of the sphenoid. In the canal it keeps company with the nerve of the pterygoid canal, which carries autonomic fibres to the pterygopalatine ganglion. At the back end of the canal it reaches the region of the foramen lacerum, close to the internal carotid artery.
Along this short course it sends twigs to the roof of the nasopharynx, the pharyngotympanic tube and the lining of the sphenoid sinus, and a small branch can reach the tympanic cavity. Near the internal carotid it usually links with small branches of that artery, so it forms one of the channels between the external and internal carotid systems.
The canal and its contents matter in endoscopic surgery through the nose. Surgeons follow the pterygoid canal backwards as a guide to the petrous and lacerum parts of the internal carotid artery, and the artery is met when the nerve of the pterygoid canal is divided to treat persistent nasal discharge. The anastomosis with the internal carotid is also a recognised route by which tumours of the nasopharynx and skull base draw blood.
Course and supply
- Arises from
- Third (pterygopalatine) part of the maxillary artery in the pterygopalatine fossa.
- Ends in
- Ends in small branches to the nasopharynx, pharyngotympanic tube and sphenoid sinus, and links near the foramen lacerum with branches of the internal carotid artery.
- Supplies
- Supplies the upper pharynx, the pharyngotympanic tube, the sphenoid sinus lining and part of the tympanic cavity.
Anthromica
See the artery of pterygoid canal where it really sits, with every layer of the body around it.
- Every layer, one body. Peel from muscle to bone, nerve, vessel and organ, and turn it any way.
- English and Latin. Every structure named the way your exam names it.
- Quiz until it sticks. Short drills on the structures you keep missing.
Free to start. No card.
