Anatomic and Embryologic Analysis of the Dural Branches of the Ophthalmic Artery

SUMMARY: The ophthalmic artery has one of the most fascinating embryologic developments among the craniofacial arteries. Most of the ophthalmic artery orbital branches develop from the formation and regression of the stapedial artery and share their origin with dural branches of the ophthalmic artery. The concomitant embryologic development of the ophthalmic artery and middle meningeal artery explains adequately the important varieties of anastomosis between these 2 arteries. It also explains the presence of many dural branches from the ophthalmic artery. In this review, we focused on dural branches of the ophthalmic artery with the description of rare variations possible, in particular the ophthalmic artery origin of the middle meningeal artery and the ophthalmic artery origin of the marginal tentorial artery.