Posterior triangle of the neck
Posterior triangle of the neck
The triangles of the neck. Posterior triangle labeled in purple. Sternocleidomastoideus runs vertically. Occipital triangle labeled at right, and subclavian triangle labeled at bottom.)
Side of neck, showing chief surface markings. (Nerves are yellow, arteries are red.)
Latin
regio cervicalis lateralis, trigonum cervicale posterius
Gray's subject #145 563
Dorlands/Elsevier
r_07/12700361
The posterior triangle (or lateral cervical region ) is a region of the neck .
Boundaries
It has the following boundaries:
Occipital and subclavian triangles
The posterior triangle is crossed, about 2.5 cm above the clavicle, by the inferior belly of the Omohyoideus, which divides the space into two triangles:
Contents
A) Nerves and Plexuses:
Spinal accessory nerve (Cranial Nerve XI)
Branches of cervical plexus
Roots and trunks of brachial plexus
B) Vessels:
Subclavian artery (Third part)Transverse cervical artery
Suprascapular artery
Terminal part of external jugular vein
C) Lymph Nodes:
Occipital
Supraclavicular
D) Muscles:
Inferior belly of omohyoid muscle
Clinical significance
It is particularly vulnerable to damage at lymph node biopsy, where damage results in an inability to shrug the shoulders or raise the arm above the head (eg, for brushing hair)
See also
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 As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated.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.
General anatomy of neck (Throat • Pharynx • Larynx )
Cartilages Cricoid • Thyroid (Laryngeal prominence ) • Epiglottis • Arytenoid • Cuneiform • Corniculate
Ligaments extrinsic ligaments: Thyrohyoid membrane (Lateral thyrohyoid ligament, Median thyrohyoid ligament) • Hyoepiglottic ligament • Cricotracheal ligamentintrinsic ligaments: Cricothyroid ligament
Folds and related structures
folds: (Glossoepiglottic, Aryepiglottic, Vocal , Vestibular)Glottis
Triangles of the neck Anterior of the neck (Muscular , Carotid , Submandibular , Submental )
Posterior of the neck (Occipital , Subclavian )
Suboccipital
Fascia Deep cervical fascia (Pretrachial fascia, Prevertebral fascia, Investing layer) • Carotid sheath • Buccopharyngeal fascia
Other
Retropharyngeal space
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License . It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Posterior_triangle_of_the_neck" . A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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