52 APPLIED ANATOMY. 



Parotid Fascia. The gland is covered by the parotid fascia. This fascia is 

 moderately dense and is continuous with the fascia separating the lobules of the gland. 

 Above it is attached to the zygoma ; in front it is continuous with the masseteric 

 fascia over the masseter muscle ; and below and posteriorly it is continuous with the 

 deep fascia of the neck. It stretches from the angle of the jaw to the sternomastoid 

 muscle and somewhat deeper to the styloid process ; the band running from the 

 styloid process to the lower jaw is called the stylomandibular ligament. From 

 thence it is continued over the internal carotid artery and the upper surface of the 

 internal pterygoid muscle. 



Lobes of the Parotid Gland. The gland has extentions in various directions 

 (Fig. 61). A prolongation behind the articulation of the lower jaw, into the posterior 

 portion of the glenoid cavity immediately in front of the external auditory canal, is 

 called the glenoid lobe. Another extension winds around the posterior edge of the 

 lower jaw on the lower surface of the internal pterygoid muscle and is called the ptery- 



Glenoid 

 lobe 



Socia parotidis 



Pterygoid lobe 

 Digastric muscle \ \ 



Carotid lobe ^External carotid artery 

 FIG. 61. The lobes of the parotid gland. 



goid lobe. A prolongation inward, passing between the external carotid on the outside 

 and the styloid process and the internal carotid artery on the inside, is called the 

 carotid lobe. A separate portion of the gland, sometimes quite detached, lies at its 

 upper anterior portion between the zygoma and the duct of Stenson; it is called the 

 soda parotidis. 



Vessels and Nerves Traversing the Gland. The external carotid artery 

 enters the gland to divide opposite the neck of the lower jaw into the temporal and 

 internal maxillary. The temporal, before it leaves the gland, gives off the trans- 

 verse facial artery which runs forward on the face between the zygoma and parotid 

 duct. It is usually small but at times may be quite large and even go over to the 

 angle of the mouth and form the two coronary arteries (as shown in M'Clellan's 

 "Regional Anatomy"). The temporal vein, as it descends into the gland, is joined 

 by the internal maxillary vein to form the temporomaxillary vein, which, after it 

 receives the posterior auricular vein, goes to form the external jugular. 



The facial nerve emerges from behind the jaw just below the lobe of the ear and 

 divides into its various branches while still in the gland. There is usually a large 

 branch passing parallel to the duct of Stenson and below it. The auriculotemporal 

 nerve follows the temporal artery, emerging from the gland a little posterior to the 

 artery. It is not of much surgical moment. The auricularis magnus from the second 

 and third cervical supplies the skin over the gland. 



