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Embryology and Variations of the Ophthalmic Artery

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Anatomy of Cranial Arteries, Embryology and Variants

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Abstract

The ophthalmic artery (OA) is a very fascinating artery that has been studied by various ophthalmologists, neurosurgeons, and more recently by interventional neuroradiologists. The complexity of its embryological development, which is not completely discovered, directly involved the primitive internal carotid artery (ICA) as well as the stapedial artery systems [1]. This complex embryological development explains the numerous variations of this artery in its origin, course, and branching. During the last decades, neuroradiologists have a particular attention to anastomoses between the OA and external carotid artery (ECA) branches because of their importance in case of liquid embolization of pathologies in the ECA territory [2].

Expert comment by Torstein R. Meling.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Interventional Neuroradiology, Rothschild Foundation Hospital, Paris, France

    Sara Bonasia

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Michel W. Bojanowski

  3. University of the Southern Switzerland, Lugano, Switzerland

    Thomas Robert

Authors
  1. Sara Bonasia
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  2. Michel W. Bojanowski
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  3. Thomas Robert
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of the Southern Switzerland, Lugano, Switzerland

    Thomas Robert

  2. Department of Interventional Neuroradiology, Rothschild Foundation Hospital, Paris, France

    Sara Bonasia

  3. Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Michel W. Bojanowski

Appendix: Expert Comment by Torstein R. Meling

Appendix: Expert Comment by Torstein R. Meling

In this chapter, the authors make a tour de force presentation of the ophthalmic artery (OA), which is both an important and an intriguing artery.

The OA is an important artery because it contributes to the blood supply of the optic apparatus, i.e. the optic nerve and the retina, via its ocular branches, and to the optic adnexae, e.g. the extra-ocular muscles, lacrimal glands, and eyelids, via its orbital and extra-orbital branches. Secondly, the OA is intriguing because of the considerable variations in its anatomy, such as anomalous origins of the OA, as well as various anastomoses between the internal carotid artery (ICA) and external carotid artery (ECA) systems via the OA. The authors present the complex OA embryology that can explain these anatomical variations.

From our microsurgical anatomy books, we know that the OA is the first major branch of the ICA, that it usually originates just above the distal dural ring, and that enters the orbit via the optic canal, running infer-lateral to the optic nerve (ON). However, several important anomalous origins of the OA have been reported in the literature. The most important variant is an MMA origin, in which the OA originates from the MMA to reach the orbit via the superior orbital fissure (SOF) or a foramen in the greater wing of the sphenoid bone. In most such cases, the OA typically has double origins, i.e. with one branch arising from the MMA, which is an ECA branch, and the second branch from the ICA. However, a variant with the OA being supplied solely by the MMA has also been described. The second most common variant is an OA arising from the cavernous segment of the ICA to reach the orbit via the SOF.

The central retinal artery, lateral posterior ciliary artery, and medial posterior ciliary artery are the three ocular branches of the OA that emerge from the intraorbital segment of the OA and contribute to the blood supply of the optic apparatus. Thus, injury to the OA, whether traumatic or caused by iatrogenic factors, may have serious neuro-ophthalmological repercussions.

Furthermore, the OA has several orbital and extra-orbital branches, with no regular pattern because of significant inter-individual variations. These include the lacrimal artery, muscular arteries, the posterior and anterior ethmoidal arteries, the supraorbital artery, the medial palpebral artery, the dorsal nasal artery, and the frontal artery. There are numerous potential EC-IC anastomoses between the distal orbital and extra-orbital branches of the OA and the branches of the maxillary artery of the ECA. Examples include: (1) between medial and lateral muscular branches of the OA and the infraorbital artery at the level of the orbital floor; (2) between the anterior and posterior ethmoidal arteries and the septal branch of the spheno-palatine artery, (3) between the lacrimal artery branch the of the OA and the anterior division of the MMA, and lastly, (4) between cutaneous branches of the OA and cutaneous ECA branches from the superficial temporal artery, the transverse facial artery, and the facial artery.

Why is this relevant? First, anatomical variations carry a potential risk of procedural complications of skull base surgery, such as an inadvertent sacrifice of a middle meningeal artery (MMA) that supplies the OA; of microsurgical clipping of OA aneurysms, where the OA origin in relationship to the distal dural ring, the possible presence of a double OA or other variations should be considered before performing an anterior clinoidectomy; of endovascular treatment of dural arteriovenous fistulas (dAVFs), where migration of embolization material can compromise flow in OA branches through EC-IC anastomoses, and of endovascular treatment of OA aneurysms, where flow-diverter stenting may lead to OA occlusion. Second, knowledge of anatomical variations help us better understand complex dAVFs of the cribriform plate or the sphenoid wing.

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Bonasia, S., Bojanowski, M.W., Robert, T. (2023). Embryology and Variations of the Ophthalmic Artery. In: Robert, T., Bonasia, S., Bojanowski, M.W. (eds) Anatomy of Cranial Arteries, Embryology and Variants. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32913-5_35

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32913-5_35

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