Site of neck swelling
- it is essential to define the site of a lump in the neck.
- the neck is divided into two triangles
- the anterior triangle
- this is bounded by the anterior border of the sternomastoid muscle, the lower edge of the jaw and the midline.
- structures deep to sternomastoid are considered to be inside the anterior triangle.
- the posterior triangle
- this is bounded by the posterior border of the sternomastoid muscle, the anterior edge of the trapezius and the clavicle.
- the anterior triangle
- to define the triangles, the patient must tense the neck muscles:
- sternomastoid - put your hand under the patient's chin and ask him to nod his head against resistance. This tightens both sternomastoids.
- trapezius - ask the patient to shrug his shoulders against resistance
Create an account to add page annotations
Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.