Functional anatomy of the facial vasculature in pathologic conditions and its therapeutic application.

The authors describe the functional anatomy of the facial vascular system, using the anastomoses between the facial, maxillary, transverse facial, lingual, and ophthalmic systems to selectively identify the blood flow to a specific territory for embolization and posttreatment evaluation of hemangiomas. In three patients the specific vascular patterns are described and the usefulness of understanding the regional functional anatomy is illustrated for successful embolotherapy of these malformations.