Neck
The
neck is the part of the
body on many limbed
vertebrates that distinguishes the
head from the
torso or trunk.
Bony anatomy: The cervical spine
The cervical portion of the
human spine comprises seven bony segments, typically referred to as C-1 to C-7, with cartilaginous disks between each vertebral body. The neck supports the weight of the head and protects the nerves that travel from the
brain down to the rest of the body. In addition, the neck is highly flexible and allows the head to turn and flex in all directions. From top to bottom the cervical spine is gently curved in convex-forward fashion. It is the least marked of all the curves of the column.
Soft tissue anatomy
In the middle line below the
chin can be felt the body of the
hyoid bone, just below which is the prominence of the
thyroid cartilage called "
Adam's apple," better marked in men than in women. Still lower the
cricoid cartilage is easily felt, while between this and the
suprasternal notch the
trachea and isthmus of the
thyroid gland may be made out. At the side the outline of the
sternomastoid muscle is the most striking mark; it divides the anterior triangle of the neck from the posterior. The upper part of the former contains the
submaxillary gland also known as the parotid glands, which lies just below the posterior half of the body of the
jaw. The line of the common and the external
carotid arteries may be marked by joining the sterno-clavicular articulation to the angle of the jaw.
The eleventh or
spinal accessory nerve corresponds to a line drawn from a point midway between the angle of the jaw and the mastoid process to the middle of the posterior border of the sterno-mastoid muscle and thence across the posterior triangle to the deep surface of the
trapezius. The external
jugular vein can usually be seen through the skin; it runs in a line drawn from the angle of the jaw to the middle of the
clavicle, and close to it are some small lymphatic glands. The
anterior jugular vein is smaller, and runs down about half an inch from the middle line of the neck. The
clavicle or collar-bone forms the lower limit of the neck, and laterally the outward slope of the neck to the shoulder is caused by the
trapezius muscle.
Disorders of the neck are a common source of pain. The neck has a great deal of functionality but is also subject to a lot of stress. Common sources of neck pain (and related pain syndromes, such as pain that radiates down the arm) include:
*
Whiplash, strained muscle or other soft tissue injury
* Cervical herniated disc
* Cervical
spinal stenosis*
Osteoarthritis*
Throat*
Anatomy*
Hanging*
Torticollis*
Vertebra*
Spinal cord*
Chronic pain*
Back Pain and Neck Pain Information for Patients*
American Head and Neck Society*
Understanding Neck sprain*
Shoulder and Neck Pain
