Middle meningeal artery

It ascends between the sphenomandibular ligament and the lateral pterygoid muscle, and between the two roots of the auriculotemporal nerve to the foramen spinosum of the sphenoid bone, through which it enters the cranium; it then runs forward in a groove on the great wing of the sphenoid bone, and divides into two branches, anterior and posterior.

The anterior branch, the larger, crosses the great wing of the sphenoid, reaches the groove, or canal, in the sphenoidal angle of the parietal bone, and then divides into branches that spread out between the dura mater and internal surface of the cranium, some passing upward as far as the vertex, and others backward to the occipital region.

The posterior branch curves backward on the squamous part of the temporal bone, and, reaching the parietal bone some distance in front of its mastoid angle, divides into branches that supply the posterior part of the dura mater and cranium.

The branches of the middle meningeal artery are distributed partly to the dura mater, but chiefly to the bones; they anastomose with the arteries of the opposite side, and with the anterior and posterior meningeal arteries. The very smallest distal branches anastomose through the skull with small arterioles from the scalp.

On entering the cranium, the middle meningeal artery gives off the following branches:

1. Numerous small vessels supply the trigeminal ganglion and the dura mater
2. A superficial petrosal branch enters the hiatus of the facial canal, supplies the facial nerve, and anastomoses with the stylomastoid branch of the posterior auricular artery.
3. A superior tympanic artery runs in the canal of the tensor tympani muscle, and supplies this muscle and the lining of the canal.
4. Orbital branches pass through the superior orbital fissure or through separate canals in the great wing of the sphenoid, to anastomose with the lacrimal or other branches of the ophthalmic artery.
5. Temporal branches pass through foramina in the great wing of the sphenoid, and anastomose in the temporal fossa with the deep temporal arteries.

An injured middle meningeal artery is the most common cause of an epidural hematoma. A head injury (e.g., from a road traffic accident or sports injury) is required to rupture the artery. Emergency treatment requires decompression of the haematoma, usually by craniotomy. Subdural bleeding is usually venous in nature, rather than arterial.

The middle meningeal artery runs in a groove on the inside of the cranium. This can clearly be seen on a lateral skull X-ray, where it may be mistaken for a fracture of the skull. On a dry specimen, the groove is easy to see. This means that the artery is easy to study, even in specimens centuries old, and several classifications of the branches have been proposed, e.g. Adachi's classification of 1928.

• 
  Left parietal bone. Inner surface.
• 
  Left temporal bone. Inner surface.
• 
  Base of the skull. Upper surface.
• 
  Distribution of the maxillary and mandibular nerves, and the submaxillary ganglion.
• 
  The otic ganglion and its branches.
• 
  The course and connections of the facial nerve in the temporal bone.
• 
  Human brain dura mater

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Middle meningeal artery.

• Foramen spinosum
• Maxillary artery

This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 560 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

• Anatomy figure: 27:04-03 at Human Anatomy Online, SUNY Downstate Medical Center
• lesson4 at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (infratempfossaart)
• Photos with captions at bubbasoft.org