Long posterior ciliary arteries
Arteriae ciliares posteriores longae
Two small branches of the ophthalmic artery that run forwards inside the eyeball wall to supply the iris and ciliary body.
At a glance
- English
- Long posterior ciliary arteries
- Latin (TA2)
- Arteriae ciliares posteriores longae
- System
- Artery
- Region
- Head
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the long posterior ciliary arteries
Each eye has two long posterior ciliary arteries, slender vessels given off by the ophthalmic artery or one of its branches while it lies in the orbit near the optic nerve. They belong to a wider family of ciliary arteries: the many short posterior ciliary arteries, which feed the choroid at the back of the eye, and the anterior ciliary arteries, which come from the arteries of the rectus muscles at the front.
Each long posterior ciliary artery enters the eye through the back of the sclera a little way from the optic nerve, one on the medial side and one on the lateral side. Once inside, it runs forwards in the plane between the sclera and the choroid, roughly along the horizontal meridian of the globe, together with the long ciliary nerves. This position means the two vessels lie on the nasal and temporal sides of the eye, which surgeons and laser specialists take into account when treating the posterior segment.
On reaching the ciliary muscle each artery divides into an upper and a lower branch. These run round the eye at the root of the iris and join one another and the anterior ciliary arteries to form the major arterial circle of the iris. From that ring, fine vessels converge through the substance of the iris towards the pupil. Near the pupillary margin they link up again in a smaller, often incomplete ring, the minor arterial circle. Recurrent twigs from the major circle also run back to the front part of the choroid.
In this way the two vessels feed the iris, the ciliary body, including its muscle and the processes that secrete aqueous humour, and the anterior choroid. Their blood flow therefore supports both focusing and the production of the fluid that fills the front of the eye. Inflammation of the iris and ciliary body, and the new vessels that grow on the iris in some retinal diseases, both depend on this arterial network.
Course and supply
- Arises from
- Two branches of the ophthalmic artery in the orbit, entering the sclera on either side of the optic nerve.
- Ends in
- End at the ciliary muscle by dividing into branches that form the major arterial circle of the iris.
- Supplies
- Supply the iris, the ciliary body and the anterior part of the choroid.
Anthromica
See the long posterior ciliary arteries 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.
