Layer of deep cervical fascia that surrounds the vertebral column
Prevertebral fascia
Prevertebral fascia labeled in red, both according to older literature (e.g. Gray's) and newer literature
.[1] Section of the neck at about the level of the sixth cervical vertebra. Showing the arrangement of the fascia coli.
The prevertebral fascia (also known as prevertebral layer of cervical fascia[citation needed] or vertebral fascia[2]) is the layer of deep cervical fascia that surrounds the vertebral column.[3] It is the deepest layer of deep cervical fascia.[2]
The prevertebral fascia extends medially behind the carotid vessels, where it assists in forming their sheath, and passes in front of the prevertebral muscles.
The prevertebral fascia is prolonged downward and laterally behind the carotid vessels and in front of the scalene muscles. It forms a sheath for the brachial nerves, subclavian artery, and subclavian vein 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.
Immediately anteroposteriorly 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 omohyoid muscle.
Inferiorly, the prevertebral layer blends with the endothoracic fascia peripherally and fuses with the anterior longitudinal ligament centrally at approximately the level of the T3 vertebra. Due to this, the superior extent of the retropharyngeal space is essentially continuous with the root of the neck, and is termed the danger space. It extends laterally as the axillary sheath.[5]
^ abcFehrenbach, Margaret J.; Herring, Susan W. (2017). Illustrated Anatomy of the Head and Neck (5th ed.). St. Louis: Elsevier. p. 267. ISBN978-0-323-39634-9.