| Artery: Stylomastoid artery | |
|---|---|
| The arteries of the face and scalp. | |
| Latin | arteria stylomastoidea |
| Gray's | subject #144 557 |
| Supplies | tympanic cavity, tympanic antrum, mastoid cells, semicircular canals |
| Source | posterior auricular artery |
The stylomastoid artery enters the stylomastoid foramen and supplies the tympanic cavity, the tympanic antrum and mastoid cells, and the semicircular canals. It is a branch of the posterior auricular artery, and thus part of the external carotid arterial system.
In the young subject a branch from this vessel forms, with the anterior tympanic artery from the internal maxillary, a vascular circle, which surrounds the tympanic membrane, and from which delicate vessels ramify on that membrane.
It anastomoses with the superficial petrosal branch of the middle meningeal artery by a twig which enters the hiatus canalis facialis.
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.
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