Middle meningeal artery
The middle meningeal artery (Latin: arteria meningea media) is typically the third branch of the first portion of the maxillary artery. After branching off the maxillary artery in the infratemporal fossa, it runs through the foramen spinosum to supply the dura mater (the outer meningeal layer) and the calvaria. The middle meningeal artery is the largest of the three (paired) arteries that supply the meninges, the others being the anterior meningeal artery and the posterior meningeal artery.
Middle meningeal artery
Anterior: posterior: superior tympanic artery
arteria meningea media
The anterior branch of the middle meningeal artery runs beneath the pterion. It is vulnerable to injury at this point, where the skull is thin. Rupture of the artery may give rise to an epidural hematoma. In the dry cranium, the middle meningeal, which runs within the dura mater surrounding the brain, makes a deep groove in the calvarium.
The middle meningeal artery is intimately associated with the auriculotemporal nerve, which wraps around the artery making the two easily identifiable in the dissection of human cadavers and also easily damaged in surgery.
Clinical relevance[edit]
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
