Transverse facial artery
Arteria transversa faciei
A branch of the superficial temporal artery that crosses the side of the face just below the zygomatic arch, over the masseter.
At a glance
- English
- Transverse facial artery
- Latin (TA2)
- Arteria transversa faciei
- System
- Artery
- Region
- Head
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the transverse facial artery
The transverse facial artery is a modest vessel of the side of the face. It springs from the superficial temporal artery, one of the two terminal branches of the external carotid, while that parent vessel is still buried in the parotid gland in front of the ear.
Leaving its origin, the artery heads forwards through the gland tissue and then emerges at the anterior border of the parotid to run horizontally across the cheek. Its path lies on the outer surface of masseter, in the strip between the lower edge of the zygomatic arch above and the parotid duct below. A branch or two of the facial nerve, usually the zygomatic or upper buccal branches, run alongside it, which is why the vessel is a useful landmark in parotid and facial nerve surgery.
As it crosses the face it breaks up into a spray of small branches. These feed the parotid gland and its duct, the masseter, and the overlying skin of the cheek. The terminal twigs link up with several neighbouring arteries: the facial artery, the masseteric branch of the maxillary artery, the buccal artery and the infraorbital artery. Through these links the cheek receives blood from more than one source, which helps facial wounds heal well.
The vessel can be enlarged when the facial artery is small, taking over part of its territory. It is also met in facelift dissection, in the planning of cheek flaps and when the parotid gland is removed, where bleeding from it must be controlled without harming the nearby facial nerve branches.
Course and supply
- Arises from
- Arises from the superficial temporal artery inside the parotid gland, before that vessel leaves the gland.
- Ends in
- Ends in several branches across the cheek that join the facial, masseteric, buccal and infraorbital arteries.
- Supplies
- Supplies the masseter, the cheek skin, and the parotid gland together with its duct.
Anthromica
See the transverse facial artery 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.
