Label the Arteries of the Head and Neck

All 17 parts on the diagram

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Side of the head and neck 11

Common carotid artery It divides in two: internal and external carotid arteries.
External carotid artery It supplies the neck, face and scalp.
Internal carotid artery It gives no branch in the neck and enters the skull.
Vertebral artery It climbs through the neck vertebrae and enters the skull.
Superior thyroid artery It runs down to the thyroid gland.
Lingual artery It supplies the tongue.
Facial artery It crosses the jaw and climbs the face beside the nose.
Occipital artery It supplies the back of the scalp.
Posterior auricular artery It supplies the scalp behind the ear.
Maxillary artery An end branch; it supplies the deep parts of the face.
Superficial temporal artery An end branch; it climbs in front of the ear.

Base of the brain 6

Basilar artery Formed by the two vertebral arteries; it ends as the posterior cerebrals.
Posterior cerebral artery It leaves the basilar artery and supplies the back of the cerebrum.
Posterior communicating artery It joins the internal carotid artery to the posterior cerebral artery.
Middle cerebral artery It continues the internal carotid to the side of the cerebrum.
Anterior cerebral artery It supplies the inner side of each half of the cerebrum.
Anterior communicating artery It joins the two anterior cerebral arteries.

How this list was compiled: Every name and detail line was checked on 2026-09-30 against TeachMeAnatomy, Arterial Supply to the Head and Neck, https://teachmeanatomy.info/neck/vessels/arterial/overview/, and Arterial Supply to the Central Nervous System, https://teachmeanatomy.info/neuroanatomy/vessels/arterial-supply/; Wikipedia, External carotid artery and Circle of Willis, text only; and Henry Gray, Anatomy of the Human Body, 1918 (public domain), https://archive.org/details/anatomyofhumanbo00grayrich. Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Own original drawing; nothing traced or copied. Licence: own work

How it works

The first view shows a head from the side with the carotid and vertebral arteries and the branches to the face and scalp. The second is a blood supply to the brain diagram, seen from below.

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From the side

The common carotid artery climbs the neck and divides in two. The internal carotid gives no branches in the neck and enters the skull. The external carotid sends branches to the thyroid gland, tongue, face and scalp, and ends as the maxillary and superficial temporal arteries. The vertebral artery climbs the back of the neck from the subclavian artery.

Arteries of the brain labeled

Under the brain the two vertebral arteries join as the basilar artery. Its end branches, the internal carotids and the communicating arteries form a ring, the circle of Willis, and the three pairs of cerebral arteries leave it.

Paired arteries are labeled once; tap the one on either side.
The ring is drawn larger than life so that its short links can be found.

Questions and answers

What are the main arteries of the head and neck?

The common carotid arteries, each dividing into an internal and an external carotid artery, and the vertebral arteries, which branch from the subclavian arteries. The external carotid supplies the neck, face and scalp; the internal carotid and vertebral arteries supply the brain.

What are the branches of the external carotid artery?

Eight: the superior thyroid, ascending pharyngeal, lingual, facial, occipital and posterior auricular arteries, then the two end branches, the maxillary and superficial temporal arteries. This diagram shows all but the small, deep ascending pharyngeal artery.

What is the circle of Willis?

A ring of arteries at the base of the brain. It links the two internal carotid arteries and the basilar artery through the anterior cerebral, anterior communicating, posterior communicating and posterior cerebral arteries.

Which arteries supply the brain?

Two pairs: the internal carotid arteries and the vertebral arteries. They rise through the neck, enter the skull and meet in the ring of arteries under the brain, from which the cerebral arteries branch.