Clinical significance of maxillary artery and its branches: A cadaver study and review of the literature

The aim of this study was to investigate the anatomy of the maxillary artery (MA) and its branches. Fourteen sides of Turkish adult cadavers were dissected. The specimens were classified according to the relation between MA and the lateral pterygoid. After the removal of the lateral pterygoid, parts and branches of MA were exposed. We classified the branching patterns of MA in the pterygopalatine fossa. The calibers and lengths of the arteries, and the distance between the zygomatic arch and MA, and between the infratemporal crest and MA were measured. The MA was found superficial to the lateral pterygoid in 57.2%. The inferior alveolar artery (IA) was arisen from MA before the middle meningeal artery (MM) in 35.7%, after MM in 35.7%. The IA and MM were arisen from the same area of MA in 14.3%. In other two cases IA was arisen from the beginning of MA (14.3%). According to the contours of third portion of MA, we classified "Y" type (50%), "intermediate-T" type (14.3%), and "M" type (35.7%). This reinvestigation of the clinical anatomy of MA may provide useful information to the head and neck surgeons, dentists, neurosurgeons and radiologists related with this region.