Method: The topographical relationships between the maxillary, the middle meningeal, the inferior alveolar and the posterior deep temporal arteries were studied in a total of 208 sides of 104 adult Japanese cadavers (54 males, 50 females) available for student dissection at the Nippon Dental University School of Life Dentistry at Niigata.
Result: The course of the maxillary artery could be classified into seven groups. A clear relationship was found between the origin of the middle meningeal artery and the course of the maxillary artery. This indicated that the conventional theory about the formation of the maxillary artery which was considered to be a direct derivative from the stapedial artery, might be inaccurate. Many variations in the origin of the inferior alveolar artery were found, especially its origin from the external carotid artery and a double origin of the inferior alveolar artery was also observed.
Conclusion: We believe that the maxillary artery might be derived from a combination of both the external carotid and stapedial arteries.