Vascular Patterns in the Skin of the Face1

The face is supplied by numerous branches from the external and internal carotid arteries. Except for the principal branches, these vessels have a small diameter and only a few of them pass to the facial skin as direct'' or cutaneous arteries (3, 22). In the skin, cutaneous arteries form a distinct vascular pattern (23) characterized by fine dermal anastomoses (2) which may be modified by age and disease (4).