[Anterior falcate artery in the adult]

The anterior falcate artery (arteria falcea anterior) represents the continuation of the anterior ethmoidal artery. In the adult, it has been described previously only in its rostral portion, which supplies the falx cerebri. In the present study, however, it is shown that there exists a continuation which runs in the parietal dura of the superior sagittal sinus and which unites with the frontal branch of the middle meningeal artery at the border between the frontal and parietal bones. In addition, the anterior falcate artery, by means of arterioarterial connections, is associated with the nearby branches of the frontal ramus that supply the frontal dura. The anterior falcate artery, mostly paired, is furnished with cross-connections. Venae comitantes are absent from the parallel-running main branches. In occlusion of the ophthalmic artery, the anterior falcate artery, due to its connections with the middle meningeal artery, may be significant in the establishment of a collateral circulation to the orbit.