Ethmoidal Artery (Skull), Superior View

Description

Arising from the ophthalmic artery, the anterior and posterior ethmoidal arteries track medially along the roof of the orbit and enter the anterior cranial fossa through the anterior and posterior ethmoidal foramina at the frontoethmoidal suture. From a superior perspective into an opened cranium, their intracranial segments course adjacent to the crista galli and over the cribriform plate of the ethmoid, sending small meningeal branches to the dura of the anterior cranial fossa and septal branches toward the nasal cavity. Bilaterally, the ethmoidal vessels sit anteromedial to the middle meningeal artery branches, which fan laterally across the parietal and temporal endocranial surface. Midline bony landmarks remain readable. This angle matters because it clarifies where the ethmoidal arteries traverse thin skull base bone and dura in the olfactory groove region, a frequent site of iatrogenic bleeding during endoscopic sinus surgery and anterior skull base procedures. Injury to an anterior ethmoidal artery can retract into the orbit after transection, producing an orbital hematoma with acute proptosis and threat to vision, and the relationship to the cribriform plate explains the linkage between epistaxis control and skull base risk. For teaching, it also distinguishes ethmoidal dural supply from the dominant lateral dural vascularization by the middle meningeal artery, a distinction that helps when localizing anterior fossa dural arteriovenous fistulas. Neuroanatomy and ENT courses use this plate to anchor discussions of the anterior cranial fossa, the cribriform plate, and vascular corridors between orbit, nasal cavity, and dura. It also fits well in skull base surgery atlases, epistaxis management chapters, and radiology teaching files that correlate CT of the ethmoid roof with arterial pathways. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.