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open access eISSN 2093-3673

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Original Article

Anat Cell Biol 2023; 56(2): 211-218

Published online June 30, 2023

https://doi.org/10.5115/acb.22.262

Copyright © Korean Association of ANATOMISTS.

Anatomical study of divergences in facial artery endings

Yasser Ayish Alharbi

Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdul Aziz University for Health Sciences, (KSAU-HS), King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), National Guard Health Affair (NGHA), King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Correspondence to:Yasser Ayish Alharbi
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdul Aziz University for Health Sciences, (KSAU-HS), King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), National Guard Health Affair (NGHA), King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, Jeddah 22384, Saudi Arabia
E-mail: yasserh@ksau-hs.edu.sa

Received: December 21, 2022; Revised: February 10, 2023; Accepted: February 13, 2023

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Despite several studies focusing on the facial arteries variable courses, the findings have significantly differed. The divergent findings have made it increasingly challenging to establish consistent correlations. Thus, as a vital artery, the facial artery is prone to numerous variations, which makes the identification of the variations vital to clinical practice, particularly for the orofacial and rhinoplastic surgery, and the increasingly selective chemotherapy procedures. The present research uses angiography images for analysis in studying the bilateral facial artery variations noted in patients undergoing carotid angiography for the evaluation of congenital anomalies, cerebral vascular malformations, and intra-arterial procedures. Conventional angiography was used, as it is a vital assessment tool that helps in the assessment of variations in the facial arteries and is suitable in evaluating smaller vascular anatomy, due to the perfect spatial resolution and portrayal of vascular anatomy. Thus, rather than normal ending of the facial artery as an angular artery, the study disclosed that in certain instances, the artery termination took the form of a superior labial artery with a small lateral nasal artery branch located closer to the midline compared to the normal cases. Also, the study has disclosed a conspicuous pre-masseteric branch with small branches originating from the infraorbital artery and providing potential compensation for the facial artery’s shortness. Regardless of the infrequency of such variations, it is vital that they are considered during the performance of any facial surgical procedure.

Keywords: Humans, Arteries, Angiography, Face, Head

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