The superficial temporal artery has been thought to be the main focus of pain during migraine attacks, but its diameter has never been measured directly. The use of a new, high-resolution ultrasound machine to measure arterial size in 25 migraine patients with unilateral head pain showed that the lumen was wider on the painful than on the non-painful side during a migraine attack. The diameters of both radial arteries and the temporal artery on the non-painful side were smaller during than between attacks. The generalised vasoconstriction was not shared by the temporal artery on the affected side, which suggests a local vasodilatory response. The findings suggest that cephalic arteries may play a role in migraine pathogenesis.