biology

Head and neck anatomy

Head and neck anatomy is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Head and neck anatomy rather than just read about it. In short: This article describes the anatomy of the head and neck of the human body, including the brain, bones, muscles, blood vessels, nerves, glands, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, and throat. Structure Bones The head rests on the top part of the vertebral column, with the skull joining at C1 (the first cervical vertebra known as the atlas).

Key takeaways

Head and neck anatomy belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Head and neck anatomy to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Head and neck anatomy from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

This article describes the anatomy of the head and neck of the human body, including the brain, bones, muscles, blood vessels, nerves, glands, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, and throat.

Structure

Bones The head rests on the top part of the vertebral column, with the skull joining at C1 (the first cervical vertebra known as the atlas). The skeletal section of the head and neck forms the top part of the axial skeleton and is made up of the skull, hyoid bone, auditory ossicles, and cervical spine. The skull can be further subdivided into:

the cranium (8 bones: frontal, 2-parietal, occipital, 2-temporal, sphenoid, ethmoid), and the facial bones (14 bones: 2-zygomatic, 2-maxillary, 2-palatine, 2-nasal, 2-lacrimal, vomer, 2-inferior conchae, mandible). The occipital bone joins with the atlas near the foramen magnum, a large hole (foramen) at the base of the skull. The atlas joins with the occipital condyle above and the axis below. The spinal cord passes through the foramen magnum.

Muscles

Skin The head and neck is covered in skin and its appendages, termed the integumentary system. These include hair, sweat glands, sebaceous glands, and sensory nerves. The skin is made up of three microscopic layers: epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. The epidermis is composed of stratified squamous epithelium and is divided into the following five sublayers or strata, listed in order from outer to inner:

Stratum corneum, Stratum lucidum, Stratum granulosum, Stratum spinosum, Stratum germinativum, also called stratum basale. The deepest layer is the miotic layer, stratum basale producing daughter cells by mitosis.

Mouth

The mouth, also called the oral cavity, is the entranceway into the digestive system containing both primary and accessory organs of digestion.

Teeth

Two rows of teeth are supported by facial bones of the skull, the maxilla above and the mandible below. Adults have 32 permanent teeth, and children have 20 deciduous teeth. There are various tooth shapes for different jobs. For example, when chewing, the upper teeth work together with the lower teeth of the same shape to bite, chew, and tear food. The names of these teeth are:

(1) Incisors, there are eight incisors located in the front of the mouth (four on the top and four on the bottom). They have sharp, chisel-shaped crowns that cut food. (2) Cuspids (or canine tooth), the four cuspids are next to each incisor. Cuspids have a pointed edge to tear food. (3) Premolars (or bicuspids), the four pairs of molars are located next to the cuspids. They crush and tear food. (4) Molars, there are twelve molars, in sets of three, at the back of the mouth. They have wide surfaces that help to grind food. The white visible part of a tooth is called the crown. The rounded upper projections of the back teeth are cusps. The hard white exterior covering of the tooth is the enamel. As the tooth tapers below the gumline, the neck is formed. Below the neck, holding the tooth into the bone, is the root of the tooth. The inner portions of the tooth consist of the dentin, a bonelike tissue, and the pulp. The pulp is a soft tissue area containing the nerve and blood vessels to nourish and protect the tooth, located within the pulp cavity. A tooth sits in a specialized socket called the alveolus. The tooth is held in location by a periodontal ligament, with the assistance of cementum. Teeth are surrounded by gingiva, or gums, part of the periodontium, support tissue of oral cavity protection. The periodontium includes all of the support membranes of the dental structures surround and support the teeth such as the gums and the attachment surfaces and membranes. These include epithelial tissues (epithelium), connective tissues, (ligaments and bone), muscle tissue and nervous tissue.

Salivary glands

There are three sets of salivary glands: the parotid, the submandibular and the sublingual glands. The (exocrine) glands secrete saliva for proper mixing of food and provides enzymes to start chemical digestion. Saliva helps to hold together the formed bolus which is swallowed after chewing. Saliva is composed primarily of water, ions, salivary amylase, lysozymes, and trace amounts of urea.

Tongue The tongue is a specialized skeletal muscle that is specially adapted for the activities of speech, chewing, developing gustatory sense (taste) and swallowing. The tongue contains two sets of muscles, the intrinsic- involved with shape of tongue, and the extrinsic- involved with tongue movement. It is attached to the hyoid bone. Terms meaning tongue include "glosso" (from Greek) and "lingual" (from Latin).

Nose

Microanatomy The outer surfaces of the head and neck are lined by epithelium. The protective tissues of the oral cavity are continuous with the digestive tract are called mucosa or mucous membranes. The cells of the inner oral cavity are called the buccal mucosa. The oral cavity is lined by a stratified squamous epithelium containing about three layers of cells. They line the oral, nasal, and external auditory meatus, (ear), providing lubrication and protection against pathogens. The lips are also protected by specialized sensory cells called Meissner's corpuscles.

Blood, lymph and nerve supply

Blood supply Blood circulates from the upper systemic loop originating at the aortic arch, and includes: the brachiocephalic artery, left common carotid artery and left subclavian artery. The head and neck are emptied of blood by the subclavian vein and jugular vein.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Head and neck anatomy

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Head and neck anatomy claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Head and neck anatomy before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Head and neck anatomy ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Head and neck anatomy

In research: Head and neck anatomy appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Head and neck anatomy in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Head and neck anatomy is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Human head and neck, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Head and neck anatomy outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Head and neck anatomy in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Head and neck anatomy means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Head and neck anatomy out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Head and neck anatomy in simple terms?

This article describes the anatomy of the head and neck of the human body, including the brain, bones, muscles, blood vessels, nerves, glands, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, and throat. Structure Bones The head rests on the top part of the vertebral column, with the skull joining at C1 (the first cerv…

Why does Head and neck anatomy matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Head and neck anatomy?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Head and neck anatomy.