Artery of the Muscle of Mastication

The artery of the masseter muscle is a branch of the maxillary artery. The artery that departs from the external carotid artery delivers nutritious blood to the bones of the head (front) and teeth (back of the upper and lower jaw). In addition, to the anterior maxillary wall of the parotid gland and the large salivary duct.

The artery is located near the lower edge of the upper jaw, approximately at the level of the third upper molar, but sometimes projects a little deeper.

The length of the artery reaches ten centimeters, and its diameter is two millimeters. The initial section of the artery is the trigeminal trunk, from which the external carotid artery arises. Inside the jaw bone, the arterial branches are divided into labial and lingual. On the right, the artery enters the jaw opening between the grooved processes and the muscle of the large puncture lies there.

The artery passes between the internal pterygoid muscle and the outer surface of the masseter. In the upper part of the face it enters the canal of the pterygoid process and at the bottom of the temporal cavity it is divided into internal and external. The first branch of the artery passes through the maxillary-hyoid canal and supplies the masticatory, temporomandibular and styloid processes. The last arterial branch is supplied by a thin canal that runs along with the styloid foramen. The second artery is the final one. Through it, it gives blood to the thin muscles of the cheek, zygomatic arch, and submandibular canal.