Anatomy of the Ophthalmic Artery: A Review concerning Its Modern Surgical and Clinical Applications

Abstract

Anatomy of ophthalmic artery has been thoroughly studied and reviewed in many anatomical and surgical textbooks and papers. Issues of interest are its intracranial and extracranial course, its branches, its importance for vision, and its interaction with various intracranial pathologies. Improvement of our understanding about pathophysiology of certain diseases like aneurysm formation, central retinal artery occlusion, and retinoblastoma and also invention of new therapeutic modalities like superselective catheterization, intra-arterial fibrinolysis, and intra-arterial chemotherapy necessitate a reappraisal of its anatomy from a clinical point of view. The aim of this review is to examine clinical anatomy of ophthalmic artery and correlate it with new diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

Figure 1

Highly schematic representation of OA's developmental pattern and commonest variations. (a) Overview. Possible anastomoses are represented with dotted lines. (b) Typical anatomical pattern. (c) OA originating from MMA. (d) LA originating from MMA. (e) Persistent dorsal OA. (f) OA originating from ACE, or persistent ventral OA. ICA: internal carotid artery, ACA: anterior cerebral artery, MCA: middle cerebral artery, OA: ophthalmic artery, dOA: dorsal ophthalmic artery, vOA: ventral ophthalmic artery, CRA: central retinal artery, MPCA: middle posterior ciliary artery, LPCA: lateral posterior ciliary artery, AEA: anterior ethmoidal artery, PEA: posterior ethmoidal artery, FA: frontal artery, DNA: dorsal nasal artery, SOA: supraorbital artery, MMA: middle meningeal artery, and LA: lacrimal artery.