Occipital artery

At a glance

English

Occipital artery

Latin (TA2)

Arteria occipitalis

System

Artery

Region

Head

Side

Paired, left and right

About the occipital artery

The occipital artery leaves the back of the external carotid artery, roughly level with the origin of the facial artery from its front. It heads upwards and backwards along the lower border of the posterior belly of digastric, carrying blood to the rear of the scalp, sternocleidomastoid and the deep muscles at the back of the neck.

Near its start it lies under the posterior belly of digastric and stylohyoid, and the hypoglossal nerve hooks round it from behind as it heads forwards to the tongue. Higher up it passes across the internal carotid, the tenth and eleventh cranial nerves and the internal jugular vein, lying superficial to all four. It reaches the interval separating the mastoid process from the tip of the atlas transverse process, then turns horizontally backwards in the occipital groove on the temporal bone, medial to the mastoid notch. Here it is covered by sternocleidomastoid, splenius capitis, longissimus capitis and digastric, and lies on rectus capitis lateralis, superior oblique and semispinalis capitis. Finally it turns upwards, pierces the fascia between the skull attachments of trapezius and sternocleidomastoid, and winds through the scalp's subcutaneous layer, branching widely as far as the vertex. The greater occipital nerve accompanies its last part.

Its branches include muscular twigs to digastric, stylohyoid, splenius and the longus capitis; sternocleidomastoid branches, an upper one with the accessory nerve and a lower one near the origin; an auricular branch to the back of the ear, which may give the mastoid branch to the dura, diploe and mastoid air cells; meningeal branches to the dura of the posterior cranial fossa; and a large descending branch. The descending branch divides into a superficial part that supplies trapezius and joins the transverse cervical artery, and a deep part that joins the vertebral artery and the deep cervical artery.

These descending connections link the external carotid to the subclavian system, so they can open up as a collateral pathway when the carotid or vertebral arteries are narrowed. On the scalp it joins the superficial temporal and posterior auricular arteries. It is sometimes used as a donor vessel in bypass surgery to the posterior inferior cerebellar artery, and it can supply dural fistulas at the back of the skull.

Course and supply

Arises from

The back of the external carotid, at about the level where the facial artery leaves its front.

Ends in

Ends in many tortuous branches in the scalp over the occiput, reaching the vertex and joining the superficial temporal and posterior auricular arteries.

Supplies

Supplies the posterior scalp, sternocleidomastoid, the upper posterior neck muscles, the back of the ear, the mastoid cells and the dura of the posterior cranial fossa.