The Facial Artery of the Dog

抄録

The course, branching and distribution territories of the facial artery of the dog were studied by the acryl plastic injection method. In general, the facial artery was found to arise from the external carotid between the points of origin of the lingual and posterior auricular arteries. It ran anteriorly above the digastric muscle and gave rise to the styloglossal, the submandibular glandular and the pterygoid branches. The artery continued anterolaterally giving off the digastric, the inferior masseteric and the cutaneous branches. It came to the face after sending off the submental artery, which passed anteromedially, giving off the digastric and mylohyoid branches, on the medial surface of the mandible, and gave rise to the sublingual artery. The gingival, the genioglossal and sublingual plical branches arose from the vessel, while the submental artery gave off the geniohyoid branches. Posterior to the mandibular symphysis, various communications termed the sublingual arterial loop, were formed between the submental and the sublingual of both sides. They could be grouped into ten types. In the face, the facial artery gave rise to the mandibular marginal, the anterior masseteric, the inferior labial and the buccal branches, as well as the branch to the superior, and turned to the superior labial artery. As variations, the submental artery arose directly from the external carotid, and an accessory inferior alveolar artery arose from the facial in a few cases.