Normally, the ophthalmic artery (OA) arises from the supraclinoid segment of the internal carotid artery (ICA) and enters the orbit via the optic canal. A persistent dorsal OA is a rare variation that originates from the cavernous segment of the ICA and enters the orbit via the superior orbital fissure. To the best of our knowledge, persistent dorsal OA has not been described in the Korean literature. In this paper, we report three cases of persistent dorsal OA with review of the literature on embryogenesis and other origins of the OA.
