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The ascending palatine artery is an artery is a branch of the facial artery which ascends along the neck before splitting into two terminal branches; one branch supplies the soft palate, and the other supplies the palatine tonsil and pharyngotympanic tube.

Structure

The ascending palatine artery arises from the proximal facial artery (close to the facial artery's origin).^[1]

It passes superior-ward between the styloglossus muscle and stylopharyngeus muscle to reach the side of the pharynx.^[1]

Near the levator veli palatini muscle, the artery splits into its two terminal branches.^[1]

One terminal branch passes along the levator veli palatini muscle, winding around the superior border of the superior pharyngeal constrictor to provide arterial supply to the soft palate and anastomose with the greater palatine artery and its contralateral partner.^[1]

The other terminal branch pierces the superior pharyngeal constrictor to provide arterial supply to the palatine tonsil and pharyngotympanic tube. It forms anastomoses with the tonsillar artery and ascending pharyngeal artery.^[1]

Uflacker, Renan, ed. (2007). "Arteries of the Head and Neck". Atlas of Vascular Anatomy: An Angiographic Approach (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 978-0-7817-6081-2.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Standring, Susan (2020). Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice (42th ed.). New York. p. 586. ISBN 978-0-7020-7707-4. OCLC 1201341621.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Anatomy photo:31:15-0100 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center - "Muscles in the Lateral Wall of the Pharynx"