Ethmoidal Artery in the Skull

Description

Exposed within a calvarial cutaway skull, the ethmoidal artery is traced as it courses from the orbit toward the anterior cranial fossa, skirting the medial orbital wall and approaching the ethmoid bone at the frontoethmoidal suture. Superior to the nasal cavity, the vessel’s relationship to the cribriform plate and ethmoidal air cells becomes apparent, with adjacent bony landmarks including the nasal bones anteriorly, the zygomatic arches laterally, and the maxillary dentition inferiorly. Red-painted intracranial vessels also follow the inner table, aligning with grooves and impressions on the endocranial surface. Orientation is clear. For clinicians, the anterior and posterior ethmoidal arteries matter because they cross a surgically busy corridor between orbit and skull base, where small deviations in trajectory can translate into epistaxis, orbital hematoma, or cerebrospinal fluid leak. Endoscopic sinus surgery and anterior skull base approaches routinely navigate near the lamina papyracea, fovea ethmoidalis, and cribriform region, and the ethmoidal arteries are common sources of bleeding that may require bipolar cautery or endoscopic ligation. This view also supports teaching of why trauma near the medial orbit or roof of the ethmoid can communicate with the anterior cranial fossa. Use this asset for gross anatomy labs covering the anterior cranial fossa and nasal cavity, otolaryngology and neurosurgery teaching files on endoscopic ethmoidectomy and skull base repair, or a figure plate illustrating vascular relationships of the ethmoid bone for a surgical atlas or board-style question stem. It also fits radiology correlation when explaining CT landmarks for the ethmoidal arteries at the frontoethmoidal junction. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.