Table 2.
Summary of literature descriptions regarding the fasciae contributing to the carotid sheath (CS).
| Carotid sheath components | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Investing (superficial), pretracheal (middle) and prevertebral (deep) layers of the deep cervical fascia (DCF) |
Levitt (1970) | Carotid sheath has contributions from all the layers of the DCF |
| Paonessa and Goldstein (1976) | Superficial, middle and deep layers of the DCF contribute to the CS with involvement of the alar fascia | |
| Harnsberger and Osborn (1991) | All three layers of the DCF contribute to and circumscribe the CS | |
| Bielamowicz et al (1994) | All three layers of the DCF form the CS | |
| Kuwada et al (2012) | The CS is encircled by the 3 layers of the DCF | |
| Guidera et al (2014) | The CS is composed of the 3 layers of the DCF | |
| Garner and Baker (2018) | The CS is composed of the 3 layers of the DCF | |
| Sutcliffe and Lasrado (2020) | Fibres from all three layers of the DCF blend with the carotid sheath | |
| Chengazi & Bhatt (2019) |
Anterolateral CS wall is made by the superficial fascia, the anteromedial wall by the middle fascia and the posterior wall by the DCF |
|
| Superficial and middle cervical fasciae only |
Hollinshead (1968) | The superficial and pretracheal fascia form the anterolateral CS wall while a medially reflection of the superficial fascia forms the posterior and medial wall |
| Anderson and Homan (2008) | The CS has components of the investing and pretracheal fascia | |
| Miyake et al (2010) |
Parts of the CS are composed of the superficial and pretracheal cervical fasciae |
|
| Middle cervical fascia only |
Natale et al (2015) |
The visceral fascia in particular forms the CS |
| Deep cervical fascia only |
Gray and Carter (1858) | The deep layer of the DCF assists in forming the CS |
| Mosher (1920) |
The CS is made from the deep (prevertebral) cervical fascia |
|
| Deep cervical + other fascia combination |
Gray (1918) | The strong CS is derived from the DCF and the fascia lining the deep surface of the sternocleidomastoid muscle |
| Barlow (1936) |
The deep fascia completes the CS posteriorly while the stylopharyngeal aponeurotic fascia seals off the sheath anteriorly |
|
| None of the three cervical fasciae |
Grodinsky & Holyoke (1938) | CS is comprised of alar fascia with layers of reinforcement from the sternothyroid and sternocleidomastoid muscle sheathes |
| Komune et al (2019) |
CS is a fibrous network created by fascia from the longus capitis and stylopharyngeal muscles, plus the buccopharyngeal and tensor-vascular styloid fasciae |
|
| No fascial contribution | Parsons (1910) | No discrete fascial tube surrounding the ICA, IJV or vagus nerve |
| Katori et al (2013) | No continuous sheath encircling the CS neurovasculature |