Anatomical Variations

In some cases, doctors have observed variations in the structure and course of the facial artery. The most common of these are:

• Maxillary Artery Origin: Researchers have found the facial artery emerging higher than normal, at the level of the maxillary artery rather than the external carotid artery.
• Linguo-Facial Trunk: Among the more common variations seen is the facial artery arising from the lingual artery, forming what’s called a lingual-facial trunk.²
• Failure of Development: Doctors have noted cases where this artery never develops at all. In these cases, surrounding arteries provide blood to regions usually supplied by the facial artery.
• Underdevelopment of Artery: One or both facial arteries may be underdeveloped at birth. The development of the FA consists of three stages which cause several discrepancies such as enlargement, agenesis of the FA, hypoplasia, or different branching patterns.[1]

Additional points to consider:

1. Variations in origin: The facial artery can have a higher origin than normal, as mentioned in [3].
2. Branching patterns: There are various types of facial artery terminations, including angular, labial, alar, and nasal types [1].
3. Gender differences: Significant differences were found in the distance of the facial artery and its branches from the origin according to gender [1].
4. Embryological basis: Variations occur during the embryological developmental process due to the ablation of neural crest cells that impact embryonic aortic arch vessels [1].
5. Clinical importance: Understanding these variations is crucial for surgical and non-surgical applications in the face [1].

Citations:
[1] https://karger.com/dmj/article/6/2/81/835950/Branching-Patterns-and-Variations-of-Facial-Artery
[2] https://radiopaedia.org/articles/facial-artery?lang=us
[3] https://www.researchgate.net/figure/llustration-showing-higher-origin-of-facial-artery-ECA-external-carotid-artery_fig2_271535327
[4] https://academic.oup.com/asj/article-pdf/42/5/527/47194684/sjab380.pdf
[5] https://teachmeanatomy.info/encyclopaedia/f/facial-artery/