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occipital artery

 - 2 dictionary results
Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: occipital artery
Function: noun
: an artery that arises from the external carotid artery opposite to the origin of the facial artery, that passes posteriorlyto the base of the skull where it turns upward and ascends within the superficial fascia of the scalp, and that supplies or gives off branches supplying structures and especially muscles of the back ofthe neck and head
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

occipital artery n.

  1. An artery with origin in the external carotid artery, and with sternocleidomastoid, muscular, meningeal, auricular, occipital, mastoid, and descending branches.

  2. An artery that is one of the terminal branches of the posterior cerebral artery and supplies lateral portions of the temporal lobe; lateral occipital artery.

  3. An artery that is one of the terminal branches of the posterior cerebral artery, with distribution by several branches to the corpus callosum and portions of the occipital lobe, including the visual cortex; medial occipital artery.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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