Short posterior ciliary arteries

Last revised by Lincoln J Lim on 3 Aug 2023

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Gaillard F, Lim L, Worsley C, Short posterior ciliary arteries. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 27 Apr 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-171999

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-171999

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/171999

rID:

171999

Article created:

16 Jul 2023, Frank Gaillard ◉ ◈

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Frank Gaillard had the following disclosures:

Biogen Australia Pty Ltd, Investigator-Initiated Research Grant for CAD software in multiple sclerosis: finished Oct 2021 (past)

These were assessed during peer review and were determined to not be relevant to the changes that were made.

View Frank Gaillard's current disclosures

Last revised:

3 Aug 2023, Lincoln J Lim ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Lincoln J Lim had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.

View Lincoln J Lim's current disclosures

Revisions:

3 times, by 3 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Vascular, Central Nervous System, Head & Neck

Sections:

Anatomy

The short posterior ciliary arteries are branches of the posterior ciliary arteries which are, in turn, branches of the ophthalmic artery.

Each eye has multiple small short posterior ciliary arteries (16-20) which pierce the sclera adjacent to the optic nerve. Within the sclera, they anastomose with each other to form a complete ring surrounding the optic nerve, known as the circle of Zinn. Branches from the circle of Zinn and from adjacent short posterior ciliary arteries then enter the choroid, supplying the posterior part of the choroid of the ocular globe and ciliary processes^1,2.