Middle Meningeal Artery

Description

Entering the cranial cavity through the foramen spinosum, the middle meningeal artery (MMA) is traced from the infratemporal fossa and across the endocranial surface of the temporal and parietal bones, where it runs deep to the dura mater and divides into anterior (frontal) and posterior (parietal) branches. From a lateral aspect of the head, the cerebral hemisphere sits medial to the calvaria, while the MMA courses laterally along the inner table, with its grooves typically paralleling the squamous temporal bone and ascending toward the pterion. Nearby relationships commonly included in this context are the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve (V3) in the infratemporal region and the meningeal branch of V3 (nervus spinosus) accompanying the artery back into the cranium. Color coding separates arteries from veins and cranial nerves. Clean and readable. That course matters because the MMA is the classic arterial source of an epidural hematoma after temporal bone fracture, with the pterion marking a thin calvarial region where trauma can tear the anterior branch. Surgical teaching often ties the artery’s path to burr hole placement and craniotomy planning, since opening the dura or drilling near the sphenoid wing can encounter the vessel and its dural branches. It also helps explain meningeal pain referral, given dural innervation traveling with trigeminal pathways. Use this artwork for neuroanatomy and head and neck anatomy modules, trauma education on intracranial hemorrhage patterns, and operative atlases discussing pterional approaches and extradural exposure of the middle cranial fossa. It also fits radiology teaching that correlates CT skull fracture lines with expected MMA injury and epidural collections. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.