CHAPTER XLVI. 

 THE NECK. 



CERVICAL FASCIA. TRIANGLES. 



LANDMARKS. 



The Neck. The following structures are found ex- 

 ternal to the deep fascia of the neck, viz. : The skin and 

 the superficial fascia, the latter being divisible into two 

 layers a superficial and a deep and between which are 

 found the platysma, the external, anterior and the pos- 

 terior jugular veins, the superficial branches of the cervi- 

 cal plexus of nerves and the inframaxillary branch of the 

 facial nerve. 



The Deep Cervical Fascia extends from the liga- 

 mentum nuchae behind and surrounds the trapezius mus- 

 cle. It then passes across the posterior triangle to the 

 sterno-mastoid muscle, which it embraces, and then, from 

 the anterior border of this muscle, it passes to the median 

 line, to unite with its fellow of the opposite side. At a 

 variable distance above the sternum, this layer divides into 

 two, which are inserted into the anterior and posterior 

 borders of the upper end of the sternum, enclosing fat, 

 one or two lymphatic glands and the anterior jugular 

 veins. Two transverse portions are sent off from the un- 

 der surface of the deep cervical fascia. One, anterior, 

 the pretracheal fascia, passes across the neck, from the 

 anterior border of the sterno-mastoid muscle and covers 

 the thyroid gland and the trachea, but lies beneath the 

 sterno-hyoid and the sterno-thyroid muscles. The other, 

 posterior, the prevertebral fascia, crosses the neck from 

 the anterior border of the trapezius muscle. This last 

 partition lies behind the carotid artery, jugular vein, phar- 

 ynx and oesophagus, but in front of the vertebrae and its 



