Angular artery

Angular artery
Angular artery
	Blood vessels of the eyelids, front view. 1, supraorbital artery and supraorbital vein; 2, nasal artery; 3, angular artery, the terminal branch of 4, the facial artery; 5, suborbital artery; 6, anterior branch of the superficial temporal artery; 6’, malar branch of the transverse artery of the face; 7, lacrimal artery; 8, superior palpebral artery with 8’, its external arch; 9, anastomoses of the superior palpebral with the superficial temporal and lacrimal; 10, inferior palpebral artery; 11, facial vein; 12, angular vein; 13, branch of the superficial temporal vein.
	The arteries of the face and scalp (angular artery labeled at center right)
Details
Source	Facial artery
Vein	Angular vein
Supplies	Lacrimal sac, orbicularis oculi muscle
Identifiers
Latin	arteria angularis
TA98	A12.2.05.029
TA2	4397
FMA	49583
	Anatomical terminology [edit on Wikidata]

The angular artery is an artery of the face. It is the terminal part of the facial artery. It ascends to the medial angle of the eye's orbit. It is accompanied by the angular vein. It ends by anastomosing with the dorsal nasal branch of the ophthalmic artery. It supplies the lacrimal sac, the orbicularis oculi muscle, and the outer side of the nose.

Structure

The angular artery is the terminal part of the facial artery.^[1]^[2] It ascends to the medial angle of the eye's orbit (the medial canthus).^[2] It is embedded in the fibers of the angular head of the levator labii superioris muscle.^{[citation needed]} It is accompanied by the angular vein. On the cheek, it distributes branches which anastomose with the infraorbital artery.^[2] It ends by anastomosing with the dorsal nasal branch of the ophthalmic artery.

Function

The angular artery supplies the lacrimal sac,^[2] most of the outer side of the nose,^[3] part of the lower eyelid,^[2] and the orbicularis oculi muscle.^{[citation needed]}

Clinical significance

The angular artery is important in a nasolabial skin flap for reconstructive surgery.^[4] It can be put at risk during acupuncture of skin around the inner side of the eye.^[5]