Submandibular triangle
Region of the neck
The submandibular triangle (or submaxillary or digastric triangle) corresponds to the region of the neck immediately beneath the body of the mandible.
01Boundaries and coverings
It is bounded:
- above, by the lower border of the body of the mandible, and a line drawn from its angle to the mastoid process;
- below, by the posterior belly of the Digastricus; in front, by the anterior belly of the Digastricus.
It is covered by the integument, superficial fascia, Platysma, and deep fascia, ramifying in which are branches of the facial nerve and ascending filaments of the cutaneous cervical nerve.
Its floor is formed by the Mylohyoideus anteriorly, and by the hyoglossus posteriorly.
02Triangles
03Divisions
It is divided into an anterior and a posterior part by the stylomandibular ligament.
Anterior part
The anterior part contains the submandibular gland, superficial to which is the anterior facial vein, while imbedded in the gland is the facial artery and its glandular branches.
Beneath the gland, on the surface of the Mylohyoideus, are the submental artery and the mylohyoid artery and nerve.
Posterior part
The posterior part of this triangle contains the external carotid artery, ascending deeply in the substance of the parotid gland
This vessel lies here in front of, and superficial to, the external carotid, being crossed by the facial nerve, and gives off in its course the posterior auricular, superficial temporal, and internal maxillary branches: more deeply are the internal carotid, the internal jugular vein, and the vagus nerve, separated from the external carotid by the Styloglossus and Stylopharyngeus, and the hypoglossal nerve
04Summary of contents
The following summarizes the important structures found in the submandibular triangle:
- Facial artery (cervical section) with branches
- Submental artery
- Ascending palatine artery
- Glandular branches to the submandibular branch
- Tonsillar branch to palatine tonsil
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Submandibular triangle”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Musculi coli base, my edits for tringles, labeled triangles, Submandib.svg by Olek Remesz (wiki-pl: Orem, commons: Orem) Modified by user:madhero88, CC BY 3.0
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