Submental artery

The submental artery is a branch of the facial artery that runs on the underside of the chin.

Submental artery
Dissection, showing salivary glands of right side. (Submental artery visible at bottom right.)
Details
Sourcefacial artery
Branchessuperficial branch
deep branch
Identifiers
Latinarteria submentalis
TAA12.2.05.023
FMA49561
Anatomical terminology

Course

The submental artery is the largest of the cervical branches of the facial artery, given off just as that vessel leaves the submandibular gland: it runs forward upon the mylohyoid, just below the body of the mandible, and beneath the digastric muscle.

It supplies the surrounding muscles, and anastomoses with the sublingual artery and with the mylohyoid branch of the inferior alveolar artery; at the symphysis menti it turns upward over the border of the mandible.

The submental vessels also supply a territory of skin in the submental area. Surgeons can use the skin and vessels in reconstruction of the face or the oral cavity.

Branching

When the submental artery turns upward over the border of the mandible it divides into a superficial and a deep branch.

Additional images

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 555 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

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