Main vessels of the face and body
Blood supply to head, face and body
Oxygenated blood travels heart via the aorta and is pumped to the common carotid arteries located on either side of the neck, here the blood supply divides into the internal and external carotid arteries. The internal carotid artery passes through the temporal bone behind the ear to supply the brain with blood. The external carotid artery remains outside the skull and feeds the occipital, temporal and facial arteries, skin and muscles of the face.
Arteries divide into smaller vessels called arterioles and then into capillaries. These capillaries are one cell thick to allow nutrients and oxygen to pass into the tissues through capillary exchange, waste products are collected and the blood is returned back to the heart via venules which then enlarge to form veins.
The scalp, face and neck are drained by the internal and external jugular veins, which carry the blood from the head via the occipital, temporal and facial veins and feed back into the subclavian vein at the base of the neck and chest region where the blood is returned to the heart via the superior vena cava.
List of arteries located in the head and face:
- Occipital artery
- Right internal carotid artery
- Temporal artery
- Facial artery
- Right external carotid artery
- Right common artery
List of veins located in the head and face:
- Occipital vein
- Right external jugular vein
- Temporal vein
- Facial vein
- Right internal jugular vein
use the link below for labelled diagrams