FIRST PART OF THE INTERNAL MAXILLARY ARTERY 547 



(B) From the second part : — (1) The masseteric; (2) the posterior deep tem- 

 poral; (3) the pterygoid; (4) the buccal; and (5) the anterior deep temporal. 

 All these branches supply muscles. 



(C) From the third part: — (1) The posterior superior alveolar (dental); (2) 

 the infra-orbital; (3) the descending palatine; (4) the a. canalis pterygoidei or 

 Vidian; and (5) the spheno-palatine. All these branches pass through bony 

 canals. 



Branches of the First Part of the Internal 

 Maxillary Artery 



(1) The deep auricular artery [a. auricularis profunda] (fig. 451) passes upward in the sub- 

 stance of the parotid gland behind the capsule of the temporo-mandibular joint, and, perforating 

 the bony or cartilaginous wall of the external auditory meatus, supplies the skin of that passage 

 and the membrana tympani. It at times gives a branch to the joint as it passes behind the 

 temporo-mandibular articular capsule. 



Fig. 452. — The Middle Meningeal Artery within the Skull. 



Middle meningeal artery 



(After Spalteholtz.) 



Anterior meningeal artery 



Anterior eth- 

 moidal artery 



Posterior eth- 

 moidal artery 



Mastoid branch 

 of occipital artery 



Occipital artery 

 ^Internal jugular vein 

 ' Posterior auricular artery 

 ' > Superficial temporal artery 

 \ Deep auricular artery 

 \ Anterior tympanic artery 

 ^Middle meningeal artery 

 Internal maxillary artery 

 Accessory meningeal branch 



External pterygoid branch 

 Inferior alveolar artery 

 , , Artery of the pterygoid canal (Vidian) 

 Posterior lateral i ; | Mylohyoid branch 

 nasal arteries ; 



Major palatine artery Spheno-palatine artery 

 Major and minor palatine arteries 



(2) The anterior tympanic artery [a. tympanica anterior] is a long slender vessel, which runs 

 upward behind the condyle of the jaw to the petro-tympanic (Glaserian) fissure, through which 

 It passes to the interior of the tympanum. Here it suppUes the lining membrane of that cavity 

 and anastomoses with the other tympanic arteries, forming with the posterior tympanic branch 

 of the stylo-mastoid artery a vascular circle around the membrana tympani. This circle is 

 more distinct in the foetus than in the adult. 



(3) The middle meningeal artery [a. meningea media] is the largest branch of the internal 

 maxillary artery. It comes off from the vessel as it hes between the spheno-mandibular hga- 

 ment and the ramus of the jaw, and under cover of the external pterygoid passes directly up- 

 ward to the foramen spinosum, through which it enters the interior of the cranium. In this 

 part of its course it is crossed by the chorda tympani nerve; and just before it enters the foramen 

 13 embraced by the two heads of origin of the auriculo-temporal nerve (fig. 451). 



The trunk of the mandibular division of the fifth nerve, as it emerges from the foramen 

 ovale, lies in front of the artery. As the artery passes upward it is surrounded by filaments of 

 the sympathetic nerve, and is accompanied by two veins. On entering the skull it ramifies 

 between the bone and dura mater, supplying both structures. It at first ascends for a short 



