Orbit and Contents

Abstract

Blood Vessels of the Orbital Region. The facial skin, muscles and bones have an exceptionally good blood supply. The main supply in the lower part of the orbital region is through the facial artery; in the upper and lateral parts it is through the superficial temporal artery and its frontal branch. The supply of some of the skin areas is shared by the transverse facial artery, the ophthalmic artery and numerous small branches of the maxillary artery. According to Kozielec and Jozwa (1977) the facial artery terminates as the angular artery in 28% of instances, but more proximally as the superior labial artery in 20% or as the inferior labial artery in 22%. In 17.5% of our specimens (Lang and Schulz, in preparation) the facial artery and the ophthalmic artery anastomosed at the bridge of the nose, and not, as the textbooks state, in the levator labii superioris alaeque nasi muscle. Also in 17.5% (right 14.3%, left 85.7%) the middle of the face was supplied by the ophthalmic and facial arteries. Contralateral anastomoses are numerous. The arteries supplying the skin of the face, like the arteries of the scalp, do not usually have venae comitantes.