66 SURGICAL ANATOMY OF THE NECK. 



CHAPTER II. 



SUKGICAL ANATOMY OF THE NECK. 



THE region of the neck is that portion of the body 

 which is contained between the occipital bone above, 

 and the superior aperture of the thorax below namely, 

 the first t\vo ribs, laterally ; the manubrium sterni, ante- 

 riorly ; and the first dorsal vertebra, posteriorly ; and 

 for the sake of simplicity will be divided as follows : 



An anterior, including the submaxillary or supra- 

 hyoid region ; a lateral, the sterno-mastoid or carotid, 

 the supra-clavicular, the occipital ; and a posterior, in- 

 cluding the nape of the neck, a method which seems 

 advisable as being a natural one, and agreeable to its ex- 

 ternal conformation. 



Surface Markings. The development of the neck 

 varies in individuals, both with regard to age and to 

 sex : round and smooth in females and children ; mus- 

 cular, and with all its prominences well marked, in 

 adult males. 



As far as its normal length is concerned, in adults it 

 is tolerably constant, the difference in certain persons 

 being rather apparent than real, resulting from some 

 peculiarity in the conformation of the shoulders, &c. 

 Its breadth is variable. 



In the natural position, that is, when the base of the 

 skull is parallel to the ground, the markings of chief in- 



