Quick Facts
Origin: Ophthalmic artery.
Course: Passes within the posterior ethmoidal canal and enters the anterior cranial fossa via the posterior ethmoidal foramen.
Branches: Meningeal, septal, and lateral nasal branches.
Supplied Structures: Posterior ethmoidal cells, meninges, and nose.
Related parts of the anatomy
Origin
The posterior ethmoidal artery arises from the ophthalmic artery as it passes anteromedially in the orbital cavity.
Course
The posterior ethmoidal artery passes medially a short distance and enters the posterior ethmoidal canal. It then exits the canal into the anterior cranial fossa via the posterior ethmoidal foramen, just at the posterior end of the lateral edge of the cribriform plate.
Branches
The posterior ethmoidal artery has ramifications that arise both in the posterior ethmoidal canal (extracranially) and after it emerges from the posterior ethmoidal foramen (intracranially). Additionally, its intracranial ramifications may anastomose with meningeal branches of the internal carotid artery and with the middle meningeal artery (Pamir et al, 2010).
Supplied Structures
The extracranial ramifications of the posterior ethmoidal artery supply the nasal cavity and septum, as well as the posterior ethmoidal cells. The intracranial ramifications help supply the dura mater of the medial third of the floor of the anterior cranial fossa (Pamir et al, 2010).
References
Pamir, M. N., Black, P. M. L. & Fahlbusch, R. (2010) Meningiomas: A Comprehensive Text. Saunders/Elsevier.
Learn more about this topic from other Elsevier products
Posterior Ethmoidal Artery
The posterior ethmoidal artery regularly arises from the proximal portion of the ophthalmic artery and runs between the superior rectus and superior oblique muscle and passes through the posterior ethmoidal foramen located in close proximity to the optic canal (Caliot, Plessis, Midy, Poirier, & Ha, 1995;
