Posterior Triangle of the Neck Flashcards
What are the borders of the posterior triangle of the neck?
- Sternocleidomastoid
- Clavicle
- Trapezius muscle
What are the main nerves found in the posterior triangle?
- Great auricular nerve
- Transverse cervical nerve
- Accessory nerve
- Phrenic nerve
- Brachial plexus
What muscles do the accessory nerve innervate?
Sternocleidomastoid and trapezius
How can you assess the accessory nerve?
Test resistance to shrugging shoulders or resistance to turning head
What spinal nerve fibres make up the transverse cervical nerve?
C2 and C3
What does the transverse cervical nerve innervate/supply?
Supplies the skin in the anterior triangle
Where does the phrenic nerve lie in the posterior triangle?
On the surface of the scalenus medius muscle
What does the phrenic nerve supply? And what supplies this nerve?
Supplies the diaphragm and is supplied by C3, C4 and C5
What does the brachial plexus supply?
Innervates the upper limb
What are the different parts of the brachial plexus and which spinal nerves make it up?
C5-T1 spinal nerves
Superior trunk
Middle trunk
Inferior trunk
What lymph nodes are found scattered throughout the fat in the posterior triangle?
Superficial cervical lymph nodes
What bigger lymph nodes are found over the clavicle?
Supra-clavicular lymph nodes
What do the supra-clavicular lymph nodes drain?
Structures from the neck and have a link with the lymphatic system in the chest
