Prevertebral fascia

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Prevertebral fascia
Image:Prevertebral fascia.png
Prevertebral fascia labeled in red, both according to older litterature (e.g. Gray's) and newer litterature [1]. Section of the neck at about the level of the sixth cervical vertebra. Showing the arrangement of the fascia coli.
Latin	lamina prevertebralis fasciae cervicalis
Gray's	subject #111 389
Dorlands/Elsevier	l_02/12476606

The prevertebral fascia (or prevertebral layer of cervical fascia) is a fascia in the neck.

Contents 1 Variations 2 Location 3 Surrounding structures 4 References 5 External links

Variations

In some literature, the prevertebral fascia also includes the rest of the fascia extending around the vertebral column and enclosing all muscles laterally and posteriorly to it^[1]. However, in this article, it is assumed to be as marked in picture.

Location

The prevertebral fascia extends medialward behind the carotid vessels, where it assists in forming their sheath, and passes in front of the prevertebral muscles.

The prevertebral fascia is fixed above to the base of the skull, and below it extends behind the esophagus into the posterior mediastinal cavity of the thorax. It descends in front of the longus colli muscles.

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.

Surrounding structures

It forms the posterior limit of a fibrous compartment, which contains the larynx and trachea, the thyroid gland, and the pharynx and esophagus.

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. This is attached to the prevertebral layer by loose connective tissue only, and thus an easily distended space, the retropharyngeal space, is found between them.

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.

References

External links

• prevertebral+layer+of+cervical+fascia at eMedicine Dictionary

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.

v • d • e 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 ligament intrinsic ligaments: Cricothyroid ligament
Folds and related structures	folds: (Glossoepiglottic, Aryepiglottic, Vocal, Vestibular) Vocal ligament • Ventricle of the larynx • Infraglottic cavity • Vestibule of larynx • Rima glottidis • 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