Short posterior ciliary arteries
Arteriae ciliares posteriores breves
Numerous small branches of the ophthalmic artery that pierce the sclera around the optic nerve to supply the choroid and optic disc.
At a glance
- English
- Short posterior ciliary arteries
- Latin (TA2)
- Arteriae ciliares posteriores breves
- System
- Artery
- Region
- Head
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the short posterior ciliary arteries
The short posterior ciliary arteries arise from the ophthalmic artery, usually through a few posterior ciliary trunks that divide as they run forward beside the optic nerve. Near the back of the eyeball they break up into many fine vessels that surround the optic nerve and pierce the sclera in a ring close to where the nerve enters the eye.
Inside the sclera they enter the choroid, the vascular layer between the sclera and the retina, and supply it as far forward as the equator of the eye. The choroid in turn nourishes the outer layers of the retina, including the photoreceptors, by diffusion from its capillary layer. Before entering the choroid, branches of the short posterior ciliary arteries form a ring within the sclera around the optic nerve, the arterial circle of Zinn and Haller, which supplies the head of the optic nerve. In some people a cilioretinal artery from this system emerges at the edge of the disc and supplies part of the retina near the macula.
These vessels are central to anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy, in which reduced flow through the short posterior ciliary arteries causes sudden, painless loss of vision with a swollen optic disc. The most urgent cause is giant cell arteritis, where inflammation of these arteries can lead to blindness in both eyes unless treated quickly with corticosteroids. A cilioretinal artery, when present, can preserve central vision in a central retinal artery occlusion. The long posterior ciliary arteries, which pierce the sclera nearby, supply the ciliary body and iris.
Course and supply
- Arises from
- The ophthalmic artery, through posterior ciliary trunks running beside the optic nerve.
- Ends in
- End in the choroid back to the equator and in the arterial circle around the optic nerve head.
- Supplies
- Supply the choroid, and through it the outer retina, and the head of the optic nerve.
Anthromica
See the short 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.
