Prevertebral fascia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Prevertebral fascia | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Section of the neck at about the level of the sixth cervical vertebra. Showing the arrangement of the fascia coli. (Prevertebral fascia visible but not labeled.) | |
| Latin | lamina prevertebralis fasciae cervicalis |
| Gray's | subject #111 389 |
| Dorlands/Elsevier | l_02/12476606 |
The prevertebral fascia (or prevertebral layer of cervical fascia) extends medialward behind the carotid vessels, where it assists in forming their sheath, and passes in front of the prevertebral muscles.
It forms the posterior limit of a fibrous compartment, which contains the larynx and trachea, the thyroid gland, and the pharynx and esophagus.
The prevertebral fascia is fixed above to the base of the skull, and below is continued into the thorax in front of the Longus colli muscles.
Parallel to the carotid sheath and along its medial aspect the prevertebral fascia gives off a thin lamina, the buccopharyngeal fascia, which closely invests the Constrictor muscles of the pharynx, and is continued forward from the Constrictor pharyngis superior on to the Buccinator.
It is attached to the prevertebral layer by loose connective tissue only, and thus an easily distended space, the retropharyngeal space, is found between them.
This space is limited above by the base of the skull, while below it extends behind the esophagus into the posterior mediastinal cavity of the thorax.
The prevertebral fascia is prolonged downward and lateralward behind the carotid vessels and in front of the Scaleni, and forms a sheath for the brachial nerves and subclavian vessels in the posterior triangle of the neck; it is continued under the clavicle as the axillary sheath and is attached to the deep surface of the coracoclavicular fascia.
Immediately above and behind the clavicle an areolar space exists between the investing layer and the sheath of the subclavian vessels, and in this space are found the lower part of the external jugular vein, the descending clavicular nerves, the transverse scapular and transverse cervical vessels, and the inferior belly of the Omohyoideus muscle.
This space is limited below by the fusion of the coracoclavicular fascia with the anterior wall of the axillary sheath.
[edit] External links
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.
 |
This anatomy article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
