A case of a divided maxillary artery in the infratemporal fossa

A divided maxillary artery was found in the left infratemporal fossa of a 63-year-old male cadaver during a student dissection practice. The maxillary artery, which arose from the external carotid artery at the posterior border of the ramus of the mandible, was divided into two branches in the infratemporal fossa. The deep branch of the maxillary artery was deep to the lateral pterygoid muscle and the inferior alveolar, buccal and lingual nerves, giving off the anterior tympanic, middle meningeal, anterior deep temporal, buccal, and posterior superior alveolar arteries. The deep branch passed through the pterygomaxillary fissure. On the other hand, the superficial branch of the maxillary artery, which was superficial to the lateral pterygoid muscle, gave off the inferior alveolar artery and other branches. The maxillary artery on the right side displayed a normal branching pattern within the infratemporal fossa. These findings indicate that the deep and superficial branches of the maxillary artery remained without disappearing during the development of the maxillary artery originated from the stapedial artery.