The middle meningeal artery is at risk in temporal bone fractures. It is a branch of which artery and enters the skull through which foramen?

• A Branch of the internal carotid artery; enters via foramen lacerum
• B Branch of the maxillary artery; enters via foramen ovale
• C Branch of the external carotid artery (via maxillary artery); enters via foramen spinosum ✓
• D Branch of the superficial temporal artery; enters via the temporal bone groove

Explanation

The middle meningeal artery is the largest meningeal artery and arises from the maxillary artery — a terminal branch of the external carotid artery. It enters the skull through the foramen spinosum (in the greater wing of sphenoid, just posterolateral to foramen ovale) and then divides into anterior and posterior branches grooved into the inner table of the temporal bone. The anterior branch is particularly vulnerable at the pterion (thinnest part of the skull) in temporal bone fractures, causing an extradural (epidural) hematoma with the classic 'lucid interval.' It is NOT a branch of the internal carotid artery.

Reference: BD Chaurasia's Human Anatomy, 8th ed.

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Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.