Topographical anatomy of the head and neck

The head

During the biological and social process of humanization the head has become the most characteristic part of the human body. Parts:

The cranium: Made up by the neurocranium and its surrounding soft tissues. It contains the brain and its meninges.

The face (facies): located in the anterior-inferior portion of the head, between the hairy scalp and the chin. Its features and expressiveness determine the physiognomy of the individual.

The neck

The area between the head and the trunk. Conventional borders:

 - Cephalo-cervical line: starts from the base of the corpus manidbulae, goes through the base of the mastoid process, the superior nuchal line and ends on the protuberantia occipitalis externa.

 - Cervico-thoracic line: starts from the upper border of manubrium sterni, goes through the clavicle and the acromio-calvicular joint, and ends on the processus spinosus of the seventh cervical vertebra.