Ciliary arteries

Ciliary arteries
The arteries of the choroid and iris. The greater part of the sclera has been removed.
Details
Identifiers
Latin	Arteriae ciliares
MeSH	D019842
Anatomical terminology

The ciliary arteries are divisible into three groups, the long posterior, short posterior, and the anterior.

• The short posterior ciliary arteries from six to twelve in number, arise from the ophthalmic artery as it crosses the optic nerve.
• The long posterior ciliary arteries, two for each eye, pierce the posterior part of the sclera at some little distance from the optic nerve.
• The anterior ciliary arteries are derived from the muscular branches of the ophthalmic artery.

Additional images

• 
  The ophthalmic artery and its branches
• 
  Iris, front view.
• 
  The terminal portion of the optic nerve and its entrance into the eyeball, in horizontal section.

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 571 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)