Background and Objectives: Vascular variations appear as morphologically distinct patterns of
blood diverging from the most commonly observed vessel patterns. The facial artery is considered to
be the main vessel for supplying blood to the anterior part of the face. An anatomical understanding
of the facial artery, its course, its topography, and its branches is important in medical and dental
practice (especially in neck and face surgery), and is also essential for radiologists to be able to
interpret vascular imaging in the face following angiography of the region. A profound knowledge
of the arteries in the region will aid in minimizing the risks to the patient. Materials and Methods:
In our publication a narrative literature review and a case report are presented. Results: A rare
case of a facial artery pattern has been described anatomically for the first time with respect to its
course and branching. This variation was found on the left side of a 60-year-old male corpse during
anatomical dissection. The anterior branch of the facial artery arched in the direction of the labial
angle, and there divided into the inferior and superior labial arteries. At the same time, the posterior
branch coursed vertically and superficially to the masseter muscle. It here gave off the premasseteric
branch, and continued towards the nose, where it ran below the levator labii superioris and the
levator labii superioris alaeque nasi muscles and terminated at the dorsum nasi. Conclusions: Our
review of the literature and the case report add to knowledge on the facial artery with respect to its
topographical anatomy and its branching and termination patterns, as well as the areas of supply.
An exact knowledge of individual facial artery anatomy may play an important role in the planning
of flaps or tumor excisions due to the differing vascularization and can also help to prevent artery
injuries during aesthetic procedures such as filler and botulinum toxin injections.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:89170 |
| Date | 22 January 2024 |
| Creators | Siwetz, Martin, Turnowsky, Nicol, Hammer, Niels, Pretterklieber, Michael, Wree, Andreas, Antipova, Veronica |
| Publisher | MDPI |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, doc-type:article, info:eu-repo/semantics/article, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | 1172 |
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