Fig 1.
Schematic representation of the arteries in the face and their branches analyzed in this study.
Table 1.
Scanning parameters of the micro-CT imaging.
Fig 2.
Representation of the coordinate axes with bony landmarks for cutaneous projection of the arterial perforators in the face.
Fig 3.
Arterial perforators in a single cadaver.
(A) Photograph of arterial perforators in the face observed in the cadaver. (B) Three-dimensional rendered image of arterial perforators in the face based on medical imaging.
Table 2.
Number, prevalence, and diameter of arterial perforators in the face.
Fig 4.
Topographic representation of the perforator origin distribution.
(A) Each colored dot represents the main perforator origin from a different artery: cyan, main trunk of the FA; yellow, SmA; dark green, LNB-FA; orange, TFA; violet, AAB-STA; blue, ZoA; crimson, FB-STA. (B) Density map constructed based on the number of coordinate points in each region, overlaid onto the 50-sector topographic grid. Darker shades represent higher densities of the perforator origins. AAB-STA, Anterior auricular branch of the superficial temporal artery; FA, Facial artery; FB-STA, Frontal branch of the superficial temporal artery; LNB-FA, Lateral nasal branch of the facial artery; or, Orbitale; po, Porion; SmA, Submental artery; TFA, Transverse facial artery; ZoA, Zygomaticoorbital artery.
Fig 5.
Kernel density map of the distribution of the perforators.
Warmer colors (red to magenta) indicate higher densities of perforator origins, while cooler colors (light purple to white) indicate lower densities. or, Orbitale; po, Porion.
Table 3.
Projected area, number of perforator origins, and density of arterial perforators in the face.
Table 4.
Relative dispersion pattern of arterial perforators in the face based on density (n/cm2).
Table 5.
Comparison between previous studies and the present study on arterial perforators in the face.
Fig 6.
Distribution of perforating branches from the TFA and the main trunks of the FA in relation to the subnasale.
Each colored dot represents the main perforator from a different artery: cyan, main trunk of the FA; orange, TFA. A horizontal line (red dotted line) passes through the subnasale parallel to the FH plane. FA, Facial artery; FH plane, Frankfort horizontal plane; or, Orbitale; po, Porion; sn, Subnasale; TFA, Transverse facial artery.