Nuchal lines

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Bone: Nuchal lines
Occipital bone. Outer surface.
Side view of head, showing surface relations of bones. (Superior and median lines visible at bottom right.)
Gray's subject #31 130

The nuchal lines are four curved lines on the external surface of the occipital bone:

  • The upper, often faintly marked, is named the highest nuchal line, and to it the galea aponeurotica is attached.
  • From the external occipital protuberance a ridge or crest, the median nuchal line, often faintly marked, descends to the foramen magnum, and affords attachment to the ligamentum nuchæ.

[edit] Additional images

Posterior view of superior nuchal line (labeled in red) and muscles connecting to it.
Posterior view of superior nuchal line (labeled in red) and muscles connecting to it.

[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 As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated.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.

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