Head

Synonyms: caput (Latin), cephalon (Greek)
German: Kopf

1 Definition

The head is the uppermost part of the human body that hosts the brain, the food uptake organs, the access to the airways and important sensory organs.

2 Anatomy

The bony base of the head is the skull, which is mobile on the cervical spine and secured by numerous ligaments and muscles. The most important part of the head is the face, which takes up almost the complete anterior surface of the head. The face is formed by the viscerocranium and has three key characteristics:

• Eyes
• Nose
• Mouth

The head has numerous cavities inside which are either filled by organs or pneumatized. These include:

• Cranial cavity (cavum cranii)
• Eye sockets (orbits)
• Nasal cavity (cavum nasi)
• Paranasal sinuses (sinus paranasales)
• Oral cavity (cavum oris)

2.1 Topography

Anatomically, the head can be divided into different regions, the regiones capiti (cranial regions) or regiones faciales (facial regions). They facilitate the description of the topography (location) of structures or pathological alterations. The most important regions comprise:

Already in the cervical region, at the caudal border, you can find the submental triangle and the submandibular triangle.