Maxillary artery piercing the temporalis muscle: a rare variation in the infratemporal fossa

Introduction: The variant course of the maxillary artery in the infratemporal region is very rare. From its origin, the external carotid artery, it courses through the infratemporal fossa, where its branches accompany the branches of the mandibular nerve and then enter the pterygopalatine fossa. In the infratemporal region, the maxillary artery is generally described in relation to the lateral pterygoid muscle, the key muscle of the infratemporalfossa. Case report:We report here a rare case of the intramuscularcourse of the maxillary artery in which it had its peculiar course through the temporalis muscle. Otherwise, the origin and the branching pattern of the artery were normal. Conclusion: Presence of such variations may cause severe clinical complications during endoscopic endonasal surgery for tumours of infratemporal fossa.