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Anatomy and Variations of the Posterior Auricular Artery

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Anatomy of Cranial Arteries, Embryology and Variants

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Abstract

The posterior auricular artery (PAA) is a little but constant branch of the external carotid artery (ECA) [1]. Its principal territory is cutaneous, but it also sends some branches to the middle ear and often to the facial nerve [2]. The cutaneous territory of the PAA is in hemodynamic balance with that of the occipital artery (OccA) [3–5]. The literature about this artery is relatively poor because of its little clinical implication. In this chapter, we will describe the anatomy of the PAA and its possible variations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of the Southern Switzerland, Lugano, Switzerland

    Thomas Robert

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

    Sara Bonasia

Authors
  1. Thomas Robert
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  2. Sara Bonasia
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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

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Robert, T., Bonasia, S. (2023). Anatomy and Variations of the Posterior Auricular 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_39

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32913-5_39

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-32912-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-32913-5

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