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| Superficial temporal artery | |
|---|---|
 Frontal branch of the superficial temporal artery | |
 Superficial dissection of the right side of the neck, showing the carotid and subclavian arteries. | |
| Details | |
| Source | External carotid artery |
| Branches | Transverse facial artery Middle temporal artery Anterior auricular branch frontal branch parietal branch |
| Vein | Superficial temporal vein |
| Supplies | Temple,scalp |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | arteria temporalis superficialis |
| TA98 | A12.2.05.045 |
| TA2 | 4413 |
| FMA | 49650 |
| Anatomical terminology | |
Inhuman anatomy, thesuperficial temporal artery is a majorartery of thehead. It arises from theexternal carotid artery when it splits into the superficial temporal artery andmaxillary artery.
Itspulse can be felt above thezygomatic arch, above and in front of thetragus of the ear.
The superficial temporal artery is the smaller of two end branches that split superiorly from theexternal carotid. Based on its direction, the superficial temporal artery appears to be a continuation of the external carotid.
It begins within theparotid gland, behind the neck of themandible, and passes superficially over the posterior root of thezygomatic process of thetemporal bone; about 5 cm above this process it divides into two branches:a. frontal, anda. parietal.
Theparietal branch of the superficial temporal artery (posterior temporal) is a small artery in the head. It is larger than the frontal branch and curves upward and backward on the side of the head, lying superficial to thetemporal fascia; it joins with its fellow of the opposite side, and with theposterior auricular andoccipital arteries.
Thefrontal branch of the superficial temporal artery (anterior temporal) runs tortuously upward and forward to theforehead, supplying the muscles, skin, andpericranium in this region, and anastomosing with thesupraorbital andfrontal arteries. In an estimate of the path of the nerve in the soft tissue of the temporal frontal branch using landmarks by Pitanguy, he describes a line starting from a point 0.5 cm below the tragus in the direction of the eyebrow, passing 1.5 cm above the lateral extremity of the eyebrow.
As it crosses the zygomatic process, it is covered by theauricularis anterior muscle and by a dense fascia; it is crossed by the temporal and zygomatic branches of thefacial nerve and one or two veins, and is accompanied by theauriculotemporal nerve, which lies immediately behind it.
The superficial temporal artery joins (anastomoses) with, among others, thesupraorbital artery of theinternal carotid artery.
The superficial temporal artery is often affected ingiant-cell arteritis andbiopsied if the diagnosis is suspected.
This article incorporates text in thepublic domain frompage 559 of the 20th edition ofGray's Anatomy(1918)
