Sphenopalatine artery

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

The sphenopalatine artery (nasopalatine artery) is an artery of the head.

It passes through the sphenopalatine foramen into the cavity of the nose, at the back part of the superior meatus.

Here it gives off its posterior lateral nasal branches which spread forward over the conchæ and meatuses, anastomose with the ethmoidal arteries and the nasal branches of the descending palatine, and assist in supplying the frontal, maxillary, ethmoidal, and sphenoidal sinuses.

Crossing the under surface of the sphenoid the sphenopalatine artery ends on the nasal septum as the posterior septal branches; these anastomose with the ethmoidal arteries and the septal branch of the superior labial; one branch descends in a groove on the vomer to the incisive canal and anastomoses with the descending palatine artery.

This artery is often ligated surgically to control severe epistaxis.

• Kiesselbach’s plexus

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