Corpus: Anterior ciliar arteries
1. Definition
The anterior ciliary arteries are several small arteries that arise from the muscular branches of the ophthalmic artery (rami musculares arteriae ophthalmicae) and run rostrally in the orbit. They supply the sclera, the conjunctiva and the straight eye muscles.
2. Anatomy
The anterior ciliary arteries accompany the external eye muscles and run rostrally to the ventral surface of the bulbus oculi. There they feed the fine blood vessels of the conjunctiva and subconjunctiva and finally pierce the pericorneal sclera to unite with the greater iridocorneal artery of the eye.
3. Clinic
The dilation of the anterior ciliary arteries in inflammation is the morphological basis of ciliary injection.