General Medical Information

Blood Supply

Susan D. John
Michael D. Maves

The arterial supply of the eyelids is provided by the angular branch of the facial artery, which forms an anastomotic network with the supraorbital and supratrochlear artery and shares a small contribution from the superficial temporal vessels. The veins of the eyelids are larger and more numerous than are the arteries and drain into the ophthalmic and angular veins medially and the superficial temporal vein laterally. Accompanying the peripheral arterial arcade of the upper eyelid, the veins of the small venous plexus drain into the ophthalmic vein, which drains posteriorly to the cavernous sinus. The veins in this region of the face do not have valves and may propagate septic emboli posteriorly. This is a particularly dangerous situation for patients who have infections in the areas of the eyelids or periorbital abscess. These patients are at risk of cavernous sinus thrombosis.