Vascular system Flashcards
what is an artery?
- carries blood away from the heart
- start as large vessels, branch into smaller arterioles, which branch into even smaller vessels to become capillaries
what is a vein?
- carries the blood to the heart
- venule drains capillaries to merge into larger veins
- valves are present
2 major arteries supplying the head and neck:
- common carotid artery
- subclavian artery
where in the heart does the blood come from for each of the 2 arteries supplying the head and neck? (left and right side)
- left side: both arise directly from the aorta
- right side: both branch off the brachiocephalic artery
where is the common carotid artery?
- travels in a sheath deep to the sternocleidomastoid with the internal jugular vein and the vagus nerve (CNX)
- swells at the carotid sinus before dividing into 2 main branches around the larynx: the internal carotid artery and the external carotid artery
what is the most reliable arterial pulse point?
- the common carotid artery because it flows directly to the brain (no syncope)
where does the internal carotid artery enter the skull?
- carotid canal
what are the main functions of the internal carotid artery?
- travels along with the internal jugular vein
- supplies intracranial structure
- gives rise to the ophthalmic artery (which will supply the eye, orbit and lacrimal gland)
- no branches until it enters the cranium
what is the purpose of the external carotid artery?
- supplies the extra-cranial tissue of the head and neck
- has 4 sets of branches
what are the 4 sets of branches for the external carotid artery?
1 - anterior
2 - medial
3 - posterior
4 - terminal
what 3 branches can the anterior branch of the external carotid artery further break down into?
1 - superior thyroid
2 - lingual (dental)
3 - facial (dental)
how many branches can the superior thyroid branch of the anterior branch of the external carotid artery further break down into? what do these branches do?
- 4 branches
- supplies: tissues inferior to the hyoid bone
how many branches can the lingual artery of the anterior branch of the external carotid artery further break down into? what do these branches do?
- 4 main branches
- supplies: tissues superior to hyoid bone (including suprahyoid muscles, floor of mouth, tongue, soft palate)
how many branches of the facial artery of the anterior branch of the external carotid artery further break down into? what do these branches do?
- 6 main branches
- supplies:
- soft palate, palatine muscles, and palatine tonsils
- submandibular lymph nodes, submandibular salivary gland, the mylohyoid and digastric muscles
- lower lip and upper lip including muscles of facial expression
- tissue along the nose
how many branches of the medial artery of the external carotid artery further break down into?
- only one small medial branch: ascending pharyngeal artery
- has many small branches
how many branches of the posterior artery of the external carotid artery are there?
1 - occipital artery (further breaks down into 4 branches)
2 - posterior auricular artery (further breaks down into 2 branches)
how many branches are there of the terminal branches of the external carotid artery?
1 - superficial temporal artery (4 branches)
2 - maxillary artery (10 branches)
- splits occurs in parotid gland
- each branch gives rises to important arteries
where does the maxillary artery begin?
- at the neck of the condyle
- largest terminal branch
branches of the maxillary artery:
10 total (not as important) 1 - middle meningeal artery 2 - inferior alveolar artery, breaks down into... (3,4,5) 3 - incisive artery 4 - mental artery 5 - mylohyoid artery 6 - posterior superior alveolar artery 7 - infraorbital artery, breaks down into... (8) 8 - anterior superior alveolar artery 9 - greater and lesser palatine arteries 10 - sphenopalatine artery
what 3 branches of the maxillary artery are important for dental work?
1 - inferior alveolar artery and incisive artery: supply mandibular teeth, floor of mouth
2 - posterior superior alveolar artery: supplies posterior mx teeth, mx sinus. sometimes there is also a middle superior alveolar artery present
3 - anterior superior alveolar artery: supplies mx teeth
how does blood leave the cranium?
- from merging of external and internal jugular and anterior jugular with the subclavian vein
- this forms the brachiocephalic vein, which empties into the superior vena cava
where does the facial vein drain into?
- internal jugular vein
- drains from the same regions of the face that the facial artery supplies
- begins medial corner of the eye from the junction of two veins in the frontal region: the supratrochlear and the supraorbital
where does the superficial temporal vein drain?
- lateral scalp
- superficially located
- eventually empties into external jugular vein
where does the maxillary vein collect blood from?
- pterygoid plexus, nose, palate, teeth, etc
- eventually empties into external jugular vein
branches of the maxillary vein that are relevant to dental work:
- inferior alveolar vein (drains mn teeth)
- posterior superior alveolar vein (drains mx teeth)
what are the pterygoid plexus of veins?
- a collection of small anastomosing veins located around the pterygoid muscles and maxillary artery in the infratemporal fossa
- accommodates volumetric changes of the infratemporal fossa when the mandible moves
- ***protects the maxillary artery from being compressed during mastication
- drains into the maxillary vein
what is atherosclerosis
- narrowing and blockage of arteries
what is a thrombus
- a clot that forms on the inner wall of a vessel
what is an embolus
- a thrombus that dislodges from the wall and starts to move through the vessel
what is a hemorrhage
- when a vessel is traumatized and large amounts of blood can escape into the surrounding tissue without clotting
what is a hemotoma
- when a vessel undergoes localized trauma and a small amount of blood escapes from the vessel and clots, forming a bruise
