The human body is full of blood vessels from head to toe. They allow the body to function normally and carry nutrients and oxygen throughout the body. There are also such vessels among them that play a vital role for a person.
Carotid artery
Each of us at least once in our lives damaged some part of the body, for example, when a finger was cut, blood began to flow from it. It is not difficult to stop such bleeding, since the diameter of the vessel is rather small and the pressure in it is low. In addition, there are platelets in human blood that clog the cut, and after a couple of minutes the blood itself stops flowing.
But this does not always happen: in the human body there are vessels that differ both in large diameter and in the pressure of the blood that moves through them. Usually they are the most important in the human body, and their damage and lack of medical care can lead to serious blood loss. One of these is the carotid artery.
This blood vessel is a paired artery that beginsin the chest and branches towards the head. Because of this, its main functions can be considered the blood supply to the brain, eyes and other parts of the human head.
More about the structure of the carotid artery and its functions
The carotid artery has two branches: right and left. The first originates in the region of the humeral trunk. The left artery, in turn, begins in the region of the aortic arch. Due to such anatomical features, the left artery is a couple of centimeters longer than the right. Then it moves vertically upward, located in the neck, then branches and is located in different parts of the head.
The main function of this artery is the blood supply to the brain. This can only happen when this vessel does not have pathologies and various diseases that interfere with normal blood circulation. When blockages occur in the arteries, the person is more likely to need surgery.
External carotid artery
This type of artery is considered one of the main components of one common trunk of the carotid artery. It starts from a single artery, is located at the level of the carotid triangle, one of its parts. First, it passes closer to the middle of the artery located inside, and then much more lateral relative to it.
Initially, this artery is covered by a muscle, and if we consider its location in the region of the carotid triangle, then it can be observed under the subcutaneous muscle located in the neck. The artery does not end there,division takes place. In the region of the lower jaw, approximately at the level of the neck, the first branches of the external carotid artery appear. They are represented by the maxillary and superficial temporal arteries. Further, other branches of the external carotid artery appear, they diverge in different directions in the corresponding directions. Therefore, the anterior, middle and posterior branches of the external carotid artery are determined here. Each of them is responsible for the normal functioning of certain parts of the human body, supplying them with nutrients and oxygen.
Front group
It is these areas, related to the external branch of the trunk of the carotid artery, that include quite impressive vessels. The peculiarity of this group is that it allows blood to flow to the organs located in the face and throat. Therefore, the functioning of the larynx, face, tongue, thyroid gland depends on their normal work. From the common vessel, which is a branch of the external carotid artery, three main vessels depart, which are quite large in size. Then there is another division into smaller vessels, this differentiation allows you to supply blood to all the necessary parts of the body.
The anterior group of branches of the external carotid artery includes three main vessels, each of them has a specific function and location.
Superior thyroid artery
Its branch occurs at the level of the horns at the very beginning of the hyoid bone. This arrangement allows this particular artery to supply blood to the thyroid gland and,of course, parathyroid. Also, thanks to this artery, blood enters the larynx, passing through the upper artery in the area of the mastoid muscle.
After that, it, like most vessels in the human body, separates again. And at the upper thyroid artery, the hypoglossal and cricoid branches appear. One of them, namely the hyoid, becomes the main vessel that feeds the nearest muscles, and the hyoid bone.
As for the cricothyroid branch, it allows blood to flow to the corresponding muscle. After that, it connects with a vessel similar to it on the other side.
The superior laryngeal artery supplies blood to the epiglottis and larynx. With its help, it seems possible to enrich the membranes of these organs, as well as the muscles located around them, with oxygen.
Linguistic artery
This vessel, like the previous ones, is a component of the branch of the external carotid artery, there is a branch just above one of the vessels, in particular, the thyroid one. This happens in the region of the hyoid bone, then it moves and gradually reaches the region of the Pirogov triangle. Then the lingual artery goes to the point from which it got its name, that is, to the very tongue, it is located below. Although. compared to other arteries, the lingual artery is considered not so big, it also has its own smaller vessels.
For example, the deep artery of the tongue looks like a large branch of the lingual artery. Its locationquite interesting: first it rises up and reaches the so-called base of the tongue. Then it continues to move along it and reaches the very tip. This vessel surrounds several muscles, in particular the lingual and inferior longitudinal.
In addition, there is a suprahyoid branch, its main function is the blood supply to the hyoid bone. Accordingly, it is located along the upper edge of this bone. The hyoid artery is located in the region of the hyoid muscle, directly above it. Its functional features lie in the blood supply to part of the oral cavity, thanks to it oxygen enters all the components of the human oral cavity. This number includes the oral mucosa, salivary glands and even the gums. The dorsal branches have a peculiar arrangement, so they can be observed in the region of one of the muscles, in this case, the hyoid.
Facial artery
This type of vessel branches in the region of the corner of the lower jaw, and then goes through the gland located nearby, that is, the submandibular. This vessel is not in vain called the facial artery, because, starting from the neck, it goes through the region of the lower jaw, gradually moving to the region of the face. Then it goes forward and moves to the top. The tips of the vessels end at the corners of the mouth, and the other branch reaches the eyes. In addition, the artery itself includes additional vessels, respectively, other branches appear.
Despite the fact that there are mainly branches of the external carotid artery on the neck, the smaller arteries included in the group are located in the face and partiallyhuman mouth. The tonsil branch goes to the palatine tonsil, and from the fork it goes across the sky. It also goes to the base of the tongue, reaching there along the wall of the human oral cavity.
As for the palatine artery, its location is directly from the very base of the facial artery, which is part of a group called the anterior branches of the external carotid artery. The ascending palatine artery ends in the region of the pharynx, in particular, its mucous membrane and, in addition, the palatine tonsil. The last branches also reach the tubes responsible for normal hearing.
The mental artery runs through the hyoid muscle, more precisely, through the outer surface of this muscle. The endings of the vessel move to the area of the chin and certain neck muscles.
Back group
The posterior branch of the external carotid artery, like the previous ones, has its own branches of blood vessels. The ear artery departs from it, and it is in this place that the occipital artery originates. With their help, the blood supply to the visible inner part of the ear occurs. In addition, thanks to these arteries, blood enters the muscles of the neck located behind, in the back of the head, as well as the canal of the facial nerve. A distinctive feature of this branch is that it has the ability to penetrate the membrane of the brain.
Occipital artery
Departs separately, is almost as high as the front one. Its location is in the region of the digastric muscle, located under it, after which it moves into the groove near the temple. Further, her path passes underthe skin, where it is located, is involved in the back of the head, and branching occurs in the epidermis of the occipital region.
After going all this way, they connect with the same branches that go from the opposite side. A connection is also made with other branches, some vessels of the spinal column.
The occipital artery has a division into several smaller vessels, respectively, ear, descending, mastoid branches appear. The first goes straight to the visible inner part of the human ear, and after passing it, it becomes one with other branches of the posterior auricular artery. The descending one reaches the most hidden corners, as it goes to the area of the neck that is farthest from the rest. As for the mastoid, it lies in the shell of the human brain, in the corresponding channels available there.
Posterior auricular artery
The branches of the external and internal carotid arteries play an important role in the human body, as well as their smallest branches. For example, this vessel is directed obliquely backward, it goes from the digastric muscle, then it spreads in this way: it passes from the edge of the posterior abdomen. It also divides into three smaller branches. One of these vessels will be the occipital branch.
Its location corresponds to the base of the mastoid process, allows blood to flow into the skin located in the occipital region. The ear branch has made its way along the back of the ear and allows blood to be supplied to the visible areas of the inside of the ear.person. The stylomastoid artery plays an equally important role: the facial nerve largely depends on its normal operation, because it is to it that blood enters, the location partially corresponds to the temporal bone.
Middle group
The middle group of branches of the external carotid artery has fewer branches than the previous ones. In fact, this group includes one artery, which then branches into a number of smaller vessels, but its significance does not decrease from this.
The medial branches of the external carotid artery include the pharyngeal ascending artery and other vessels that make it possible to supply nutrients, and most importantly oxygen, to those muscles that are located on the face, that is, they nourish the lips, cheeks, etc. e.
Ascending pharyngeal artery
After its branch, this artery takes a direction towards the pharynx and passes along its wall. The branching of this vessel occurs in such a way that the posterior meningeal artery goes towards the tympanic part and spreads further through the tympanic tubule, located in one of its cavities, in this case the lower one.
Terminal branches
The terminal branches of the external carotid artery are a small number of blood vessels that are part of the carotid artery. This branch has two arteries, namely the maxillary and superficial temporal. They differ in size, and other vessels branching from them allow blood to be carried to distant parts of the body.
Superficial temporal artery
This vesselconsidered a continuation of the external carotid artery. Its passage corresponds to the visible surface of the inner part of the ear, namely its front wall, the artery is located under the skin. The movement goes up and goes towards the temple area. If it is necessary to feel the pulsation, indicate the branches of the external carotid artery in this particular place. Here, it is quite easy to determine the beating of the blood flow.
Then another division occurs: the parietal artery appears, as well as the frontal artery. This happens at the level of the corner of the eye, located near the temporal region. These arteries carry blood to the forehead, crown, and supracranial muscle.
The terminal branches of the external carotid artery include a superficial vessel, which is divided into five smaller ones. One of them is the transverse facial artery. This blood vessel is located in the region of the parotid gland, its duct. Then it moves towards the cheek and is located in the skin. Vessels spread in the infraorbital region and reach another type of muscle tissue - mimic.
Zygomatic allows blood to flow to some muscles of the eye, passing through the lesser zygomatic arch. The anterior ear go to the ear, namely its visible surface of the inner part, there is also a middle temporal artery and branches located in the region of the gland located here.
The maxillary artery does not go in one trunk and is also divided into other vessels, in this case several departments are distinguished, one of which is the jaw. It is he who includes the outgoingfrom it are smaller vessels, for example, this is a deep ear artery. There is also a rather large artery called the inferior alveolar. The densest among the vessels of this group is the middle meningeal, located in the direction of the membrane of the brain.
Conclusion
The above information shows what the external carotid artery is. The topography of the branch divides it into 4 groups. All of them are important for a person, and a failure in the work of one of them can affect not only problems in the area of a certain part of the body, but also the work of the whole organism. An important role is also played by small vessels that depart from each branch, since they allow you to supply blood to the area of \u200b\u200bthe eyes, cheeks, chin, different parts of the head, pass both in the muscles and are located closer to the epithelium.
