communicating artery com·mu·ni·cat·ing artery (kə-my&oomacr;'nĭ-kā'tĭng)
n.
An artery that connects two larger arteries.
A short artery joining the two anterior cerebral arteries and completing anteriorly the circle of Willis; anterior communicating artery.
An artery with origin in the internal carotid artery, with distribution to the optic tract, cerebral peduncle, and hippocampal gyrus; and with anastomoses with the posterior cerebral artery to form the circle of Willis; posterior communicating artery.