#epicranial

[diginerve]

Scalp Anatomy: Structure & Nerve Supply

Are you a postgraduate student who is pursuing a career in the field of dermatology? If so, then you probably recognize the importance of having a solid understanding of scalp anatomy. 

Besides that, you should also know about the complete structure of the scalp and its nerve supply, which are essential for your further studies or clinical practice. However, since these concepts can be complex for you to learn, you may need external help apart from your regular textbooks. 

If you ever feel that you can’t do this, please don't quit and do not stop believing in your dreams. Many students like you face the same problem as you. 

In this blog post for you that we have curated for you, here we will give you a basic understanding of what scalp anatomy is and we will also provide you with a dermatology course that you can enroll in and set your basic foundation.

So don't forget to read this blog post till the end. 

What do you need to know about scalp anatomy?

Any student who is pursuing and aiming to make a career in this field must have a deep understanding about scalp anatomy. The scalp is like the protective cover that keeps your skull safe. 

It has five layers: skin, connective tissue, epicranial aponeurosis, loose areolar tissue, and pericranium.

The main function of all these layers is to protect our skull and let our scalp move around. So it's important that you know about them not just for your PG exam but also for performing scalp surgeries.

On the other hand, you must also know about the scalp nerve supply as your scalp contains a lot of nerves that make you feel things. Some of these nerves come from your head, like the trigeminal nerve that helps you feel the front and top of your head.

Some nerves come from your neck, like the greater occipital nerve, which helps you feel the back of your head. It's essential for students learning to be doctors to know about all these nerves. This way, they can help people who have problems like numbness and headaches or need special treatments called nerve blocks.

Now let’s talk about a dermatology course that can help you with the same.

Dermatology MD Course: Join Now

This Dermatology MD course is crafted by two Chief Editors, Dr. Rashmi Sarkar and Dr. S. Sachhidanand, in collaboration with India’s 78 eminent faculties. It is an e-lecture series considered one of the best dermatology courses for PG students who cannot get the correct information from their textbooks.

Learning about this field is crucial for PG students and those about to prepare for their surgical procedure. If you are a postgraduate student who wants to acquire knowledge on “Scalp anatomy and its structure and nerve supply,"  this e-course by DigiNerve can significantly benefit you. 

Designed with PG students in mind, this course entails various benchmark trials, video lectures, self-assessment questions, etc. 

So it's high time you invest your time and energy towards the right path and enroll in the right course. 

[mcatmemoranda]

From Grant’s Dissector.

The scalp consists of five layers, three of which are firmly bound together. The first layer, or most superficial layer, of the scalp is the Skin. Deep to the skin, dense subcutaneous Connective tissue containing the vessels and nerves of the scalp forms the second layer. The third layer of the scalp is the Aponeurosis (epicranial aponeurosis) connecting the frontal belly to the occipital belly of the occipitofrontalis muscle. These three layers are tightly bound to each other. Deep to the epicranial aponeurosis is the fourth layer formed by Loose connective tissue that permits the scalp to move over the skull. The fifth and last layer is the Pericranium or periosteum of the cranial bones. As an aid to memory, note that the first letters of the names of the five layers spell the word scalp.

Clinical Correlation

Scalp

The connective tissue layer of the scalp contains collagen fibers that attach to the external surface of the blood vessels. When a blood vessel of the scalp is cut, the connective tissue holds the lumen open, resulting in profuse bleeding.

If an infection occurs in the scalp, it can spread within the loose connective tissue layer. Therefore, the loose connective tissue layer is often called the “danger area.” From the “danger area,” the infection may pass into the cranial cavity through emissary veins.

Clinical Correlation

Epidural Hematoma

Fractures through the pterion may result in tearing the middle meningeal artery causing an epidural hemorrhage (extradural hematoma). When the middle meningeal artery is torn in a head injury, blood accumulates between the skull and the dura mater resulting in life threatening compression of the brain.

Clinical Correlation

Subdural Hematoma

At the point where the bridging veins enter the superior sagittal sinus, they may be torn in cases of head trauma. As a complication of head injury, bridging veins may bleed into the potential space between the dura mater and the arachnoid mater. When this happens, the venous blood accumulates between the dura mater and arachnoid mater (a “subdural space” is created), and this condition is called a subdural hematoma.

...the two layers of the dura mater [periosteal and meningeal layers] separate from each other in several locations to form dural venous sinuses. The dural venous sinuses collect venous drainage from the brain and conduct it out of the cranial cavity.

[lyeekha]

by attaching to the epicranial aponeurosis and manipulating charges to the cerebral cortex, remy the rat shows many signs of being a mammal-mimicking parasitic fungus. in this essay i will

[muscular-system-en-blog]

Epicranial aponeurosis

Epicranial aponeurosis Muscles of the head, face, and neck. (Epicranial aponeurosis visible at top.) Details Identifiers Latin Galea aponeurotica, Aponeurosis epicranialis, Aponeurosis epicrania TA A04.1.03.007 FMA 46768 Anatomical terminology [edit on Wikidata] This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) The epicranial aponeurosis (aponeurosis epicranialis, galea aponeurotica) is an aponeurosis (a tough layer of dense fibrous tissue) which covers the upper part of the cranium in humans and various other animals. In humans, it is attached, in the interval between its union with the occipitofrontalis muscle, to the external occipital protuberance and highest nuchal lines of the occipital bone; in front, it forms a short and narrow prolongation between its union with the frontalis muscle or frontal part of the occipitofrontalis muscle. On either side it gives origin to the anterior and the superior auricular muscles; in this situation it loses its aponeurotic character, and is continued over the temporal fascia to the zygomatic arch as a layer of laminated areolar tissue. It is closely connected to the integument by the firm, dense, fibro-fatty layer which forms the superficial fascia of the scalp: it is attached to the pericranium by loose cellular tissue, which allows the aponeurosis, carrying with it the integument, to move through a considerable distance. More details Android, Windows

[neurogenpapers]

Repeated anodal transcranial direct current stimulation induces neural plasticity-associated gene expression in the rat cortex and hippocampus.

PubMed: Repeated anodal transcranial direct current stimulation induces neural plasticity-associated gene expression in the rat cortex and hippocampus. Restor Neurol Neurosci. 2017 Jan 04;: Authors: Kim MS, Koo H, Han SW, Paulus W, Nitsche MA, Kim YH, Yoon JA, Shin YI Abstract BACKGROUND: Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (A-tDCS) induces a long-lasting increase in cortical excitability that can increase gene transcription in the brain. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the expression of genes related to activity-dependent neuronal plasticity in the sensorimotor cortex and hippocampus of young Sprague-Dawley rats following A-tDCS. METHODS: We applied A-tDCS over the right sensorimotor cortex epicranially with a circular electrode (3 mm diameter) at 250 μA for 20 min per day for 7 consecutive days. Levels of mRNA for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), synapsin I, Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc), and c-Fos were analyzed using SYBR Green quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: We found that 7 days of unilateral A-tDCS resulted in significant increases in transcription of all plasticity-related genes tested in the ipsilateral cortex. Daily A-tDCS also resulted in a significant increase in c-Fos mRNA in the ipsilateral hippocampus. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that altered expression of plasticity-associated genes in the cortex and hippocampus is a molecular substrate of A-tDCS-induced neural plasticity. PMID: 28059801 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] http://dlvr.it/N3QPGq

[mcatmemoranda]

Caput succedaneum is above the epicranial aponeurosis and crosses suture lines. Cephalohematoma is deep to the epicranial aponeurosis and doesn’t cross suture lines.

[mcatmemoranda]

Figure 7.36 from Grant’s Atlas.

“Subgaleal hemorrhage is a rare but potentially lethal condition found in newborns.1 It is caused by rupture of the emissary veins, which are connections between the dural sinuses and the scalp veins. Blood accumulates between the epicranial aponeurosis of the scalp and the periosteum. This potential space extends forward to the orbital margins, backward to the nuchal ridge and laterally to the temporal fascia. In term babies, this subaponeurotic space may hold as much as 260 mL of blood.2 Subgaleal hemorrhage can therefore lead to severe hypovolemia, and up to one-quarter of babies who require neonatal intensive care for this condition die.1”

Source

In that article, they used vacuum at birth, which should have increased suspicion of subgaleal hemorrhage. The baby died because they didn’t recognize SGH.

Babies can lose up to 40% of their blood supply and go into hypovolemic shock because of subgalea, hemorrhage. I read that in Blueprints Pediatrics last night, and the morning report was about a baby with hypotonia and suspected SGH.

[mcatmemoranda]

Subgaleal hemorrhage is a rare but potentially lethal condition found in newborns.1 It is caused by rupture of the emissary veins, which are connections between the dural sinuses and the scalp veins. Blood accumulates between the epicranial aponeurosis of the scalp and the periosteum. This potential space extends forward to the orbital margins, backward to the nuchal ridge and laterally to the temporal fascia. In term babies, this subaponeurotic space may hold as much as 260 mL of blood.2 Subgaleal hemorrhage can therefore lead to severe hypovolemia, and up to one-quarter of babies who require neonatal intensive care for this condition die.1 The prevalence at birth of moderate-to-severe subgaleal hemorrhages is approximately 1.5 per 10 000 births. Despite yearly reports from the Obstetrical Care Review Committee for the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario, many health care workers have limited knowledge of subgaleal hemorrhage. This article describes a typical case of subgaleal hemorrhage in a newborn who was 1 of 4 patients admitted to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, in Ottawa, with this condition from Jan. 1, 1996, to Sept. 30, 1999, and reviews the key elements of identification and treatment.