Middle meningeal artery

Looks like

A branch of the maxillary artery entering the skull through a small hole and running in grooves on the inside of the skull at the temple.

What it does

Supplies the dura (the tough outer brain covering) and the skull bones.

Keeping it well

A blow to the temple can tear it: bleeding above the dura (epidural haematoma). A lucid spell then drowsiness after a head blow is an emergency.

Its parts

• Accessory branch of middle meningeal artery

Related conditions

• Carotid artery stenosis
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Hypothermia & frostbite
• Kawasaki disease
• Metabolic syndrome
• Orthostatic hypotension & POTS
• Peripheral artery disease
• Phaeochromocytoma & hyperaldosteronism
• Pre-eclampsia
• Raynaud's phenomenon
• Sepsis
• Shock (circulatory failure)
• Takayasu arteritis
• Vasculitis (GCA & others)