{"id":1191,"date":"2020-07-23T08:58:38","date_gmt":"2020-07-23T08:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/anatomy\/head-and-neck\/blood-vessels-hn\/external-carotid-artery\/"},"modified":"2020-08-31T18:46:51","modified_gmt":"2020-08-31T18:46:51","slug":"external-carotid-artery","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/anatomy\/skull-head-and-neck\/neurovasculature\/blood-vessels-hn\/external-carotid-artery\/","title":{"rendered":"External carotid artery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><div class=\"intro\">The external carotid artery (or ECA) is the main contributor of blood supply to the head and upper neck, branching off the common carotid artery (CCA) at the 4th cervical vertebra.<\/div><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n<span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_1\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title1\">Branches<\/h4>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_1\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As it ascends, the ECA branches out to 8 major branches by this order (inferior to superior):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Superior Thyroid artery<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Ascending Pharyngeal artery<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Lingual artery<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Facial artery<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Occipital artery<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Posterior Auricular artery<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Maxillary artery<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Superficial Temporal artery<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The&nbsp;<strong>maxillary<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>superficial temporal<\/strong>&nbsp;arteries are the terminal branches of the ECA, with the maxillary being the bigger terminal branch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/vectors_eca.png\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"External carotid artery\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"847\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/eca-vectors-847x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1211\" srcset=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/eca-vectors-847x1024.png 847w, https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/eca-vectors-248x300.png 248w, https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/eca-vectors-768x929.png 768w, https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/eca-vectors.png 893w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 847px) 100vw, 847px\" \/><\/a><figcaption><strong>Fig 1. <\/strong>The vectors of the external carotid artery branches<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_2\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title1\">Mnemonic<\/h4>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_2\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>S<\/strong>ome&nbsp;<strong>A<\/strong>natomists&nbsp;<strong>L<\/strong>ike&nbsp;<strong>F<\/strong>reaking&nbsp;<strong>O<\/strong>ut&nbsp;<strong>P<\/strong>oor&nbsp;<strong>M<\/strong>edical&nbsp;<strong>S<\/strong>tudents<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/arteries_of_the_head.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"External carotid artery\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"915\" src=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/head-arteries.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/head-arteries.png 1024w, https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/head-arteries-300x268.png 300w, https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/head-arteries-768x686.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption><strong>Fig 2.<\/strong> Branches of the ECA<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_3\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title1\">Detailed arterial tree<\/h4>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_3\">\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Superior Thyroid artery<\/strong><ul><li>Anterior branch of the ECA<\/li><li>Supplies the&nbsp;<strong>thyroid gland, infrahyoid muscles,&nbsp;<\/strong>and&nbsp;<strong>sternocleidomastoid&nbsp;muscle&nbsp;<\/strong>and the&nbsp;<strong>larynx<\/strong><\/li><li>Branches:<ol><li><strong>Superior Laryngeal artery<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Infrahyoid artery<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Sternocleidomastoid artery<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Cricothyroid artery<\/strong><\/li><\/ol><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Ascending Pharyngeal artery<\/strong><ul><li>The only medial branch of the ECA<\/li><li>Supplies the<strong>&nbsp;pharynx, prevertebral muscles, middle ear,&nbsp;<\/strong>and&nbsp;<strong>meninges<\/strong><\/li><li>Branches:<ol><li><strong>Pharyngeal artery<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Inferior Tympanic artery<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Meningeal artery<\/strong><\/li><\/ol><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Lingual artery<\/strong><ul><li>Anterolateral branch<\/li><li>Supplies the tongue and associated muscles<\/li><li>Branches:<ol><li><strong>Dorsal lingual artery<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Deep lingual artery<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Sublingual artery<\/strong><\/li><\/ol><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Facial artery<\/strong><ul><li>Superficial to the facial vein<\/li><li>Its course is highly tortuous:<ol><li>Running above the&nbsp;<strong>greater cornu<\/strong>&nbsp;(horn)<strong>&nbsp;of the hyoid bone<\/strong><\/li><li>Continuing to the&nbsp;<strong>angle of the mandible<\/strong>&nbsp;and then superomedially<\/li><li>Entering the face and terminating at the bottom medial corner of the orbit as the&nbsp;<strong>angular artery<\/strong><\/li><\/ol><\/li><li>Branches:<ol><li><strong>Superior labial artery<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Inferior labial artery<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Lateral nasal artery<\/strong><\/li><li>Terminates as the&nbsp;<strong>angular artery<\/strong><\/li><\/ol><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Occipital artery<\/strong><ul><li>Posterior branch<\/li><li>Supplies the posterior scalp and occipital region<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Posterior Auricular artery<\/strong><ul><li>Small posterior branch<\/li><li>Supplies the auricle and auricular muscles<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Maxillary artery<\/strong><ul><li>The bigger terminal branch<\/li><li>This complex artery is discussed separately in the&nbsp;Maxillary artery&nbsp;lesson<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Superficial Temporal artery<\/strong><ul><li>The smaller, terminal branch<\/li><li>Emerges between the&nbsp;<strong>temporomandibular joint<\/strong> (TMJ) and the auricle, divides into the frontal and parietal branches<\/li><li>Gives off the&nbsp;<strong>transverse facial artery<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ol>\n<\/span><div id=\"the_titles\" style=\"display:none;\"><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Branches<\/h4><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mnemonic<\/h4><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Detailed arterial tree<\/h4><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Branches As it ascends, the ECA branches out to 8 major branches by this order (inferior to superior): Superior Thyroid artery Ascending Pharyngeal artery Lingual artery Facial artery Occipital artery Posterior Auricular artery Maxillary artery Superficial Temporal artery The&nbsp;maxillary&nbsp;and&nbsp;superficial temporal&nbsp;arteries are the terminal branches of the ECA, with the maxillary being the bigger terminal branch. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1158,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1191","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>External carotid artery &#8211; Meddists<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/anatomy\/skull-head-and-neck\/neurovasculature\/blood-vessels-hn\/external-carotid-artery\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/anatomy\\\/skull-head-and-neck\\\/neurovasculature\\\/blood-vessels-hn\\\/external-carotid-artery\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/anatomy\\\/skull-head-and-neck\\\/neurovasculature\\\/blood-vessels-hn\\\/external-carotid-artery\\\/\",\"name\":\"External carotid artery &#8211; 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