3 - Organisation of the Neck and Posterior Triangle Flashcards
What are the boundaries of the neck?
Superior - base of skull, inferior border of mandible
Inferior - top of sternum, clavicle, acromion and C7
What are the neck compartments?
- visceral compartment
- vascular compartments (2)
- vertebral compartment
What is the visceral compartment?
- in the midline
- contains parts of the respiratory system (trachea), digestive system (oesophagus) and endocrine glands
What are the vascular compartments?
- 2 laterally
- contain blood vessels and nerves (CN X)
What is the vertebral compartment?
- in the midline
- contains cervical vertebrae, spinal cord, muscles, cervical neves
What are the different types of fascia in the neck?
- superficial fascia (cervical subcutaneous tissue)
- deep fascia (investing, pretracheal, prevertebral)
Describe superficial fascia.
- cervical subcutaneous connective tissue
- continuous with superficial fascia of thorax
- connects to mandible and facial muscles
- contains cutaneous nerves, vessels, lymph nodes and fat
- contains platysma (anterolaterally)
What is investing fascia?
- surrounds all neck structures deep of the skin
- splits into superficial and deep layers to invest the SCM and trapezius
- pierced by external and anterior jugular veins and some nerves including cervical plexus
What is pretracheal fascia?
- visceral part (trachea, oesophagus and thyroid gland)
- muscular part (infra hyoid muscles)
- forms pulley for intermediate tendon of digastric (suspends hyoid)
What is the prevertebral fascia?
- surrounds vertebral column and the pre/post-vertebral muscles
- pierced by cutaneous branches of cervical plexus and cervical parts of sympathetic trunk
What is the carotid sheath?
- connects the cranial cavity with the mediastinum in the thorax
- surrounds major vasculature (CCA/ICA/IJV) and CN X
- blends with all 3 layers of deep fascia
What are the boundaries of the anterior triangle?
- inferior border of mandible
- anterior border of SCM
- midline of neck
What are the boundaries of the posterior triangle?
- posterior border of SCM
- middle third of clavicle
- anterior border of trapezius
- superior nuchal line of occipital bone
What is the platysma?
Superficial muscle found in the neck, “holds everything in”
What is found in the SCM region?
- SCM
- great auricular nerve
- transverse cervical nerve
- external jugular vein