The Journey of the Lingual Artery from the Neck to the Oral Cavity: A Cadaveric Study

Krishan Sarna; Khushboo Jayant Sonigra; Thomas Amuti; Martin Kamau; Wei Cheong Ngeow; Pamela Mandela Idenya

doi:10.1177/19433875211002058

The Journey of the Lingual Artery from the Neck to the Oral Cavity: A Cadaveric Study

Craniomaxillofac Trauma Reconstr. 2022 Mar;15(1):39-45. doi: 10.1177/19433875211002058. Epub 2021 Mar 16.

Authors

Krishan Sarna¹, Khushboo Jayant Sonigra¹, Thomas Amuti¹, Martin Kamau¹, Wei Cheong Ngeow², Pamela Mandela Idenya¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Human Anatomy, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.
² Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Abstract

Study design: Descriptive cross-sectional.

Objective: The origin of the lingual artery (LA) has been well studied due to its implication in neck dissection, but the course thereafter to the oral cavity is less described. This cadaveric study traced the journey of the LA from the external carotid artery to its terminal branches in the tongue.

Methods: Following bilateral neck dissections in 35 black Kenyan cadavers, the incidence of Beclard's, Lesser's and Pirogoff's triangles, the types of LA origin with its length, relationship to the hyoglossus muscle and anastomosis with other vessels were documented.

Results: Beclard's triangle was found in 64 dissections (91.42%), Lesser's in 46 dissections (65.71%) and Pirogoff's in 39 dissections (55.71%). The LA presented either as a solitary branch (67.15%) or as a branch of either the linguofacial (LFT-24.29%), thyrolingual (TLT-2.72%) or thyrolinguofacial (TLFT-2.86%) trunk. The solitary LA was the longest at 6.93 mm, followed by the TLT branch (6.58 mm), LFT branch (6.12 mm) and TLFT branch (5.65 mm). The majority of solitary LA and LA branches of LFT and TLFT passed through the hyoglossus, while all LA branches of the TLT coursed medial to the muscle. All variants of LA have been found to anastomose with the submental artery (SMA) at frequencies that ranged from 11.10% to 100%.

Conclusions: The LA was found in all cadavers and all Beclards' triangles. There is a significant incidence of LFT and TLFT variants in the Kenyan population. The LA passed either through or medial to the hyoglossus with no lateral relationship being observed.

Keywords: course of lingual artery; forgotten triangles of the neck; hyoglossus muscle; hypoglossal nerve; lingual artery anastomosis; lingual artery origin.