Angular artery
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. It ascends to the medial angle of the eye's orbit (the medial canthus). It is embedded in the fibers of the angular head of the levator labii superioris muscle. It is accompanied by the angular vein. On the cheek, it distributes branches which anastomose with the infraorbital artery. It ends by anastomosing with the dorsal nasal branch of the ophthalmic artery.
Function
The angular artery supplies the lacrimal sac, most of the outer side of the nose, part of the lower eyelid, and the orbicularis oculi muscle.
Clinical significance
The angular artery is important in a nasolabial skin flap for reconstructive surgery. It can be put at risk during acupuncture of skin around the inner side of the eye.
Additional images
Lateral head anatomy detail
Head anatomy anterior view
References
This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 556 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)