Neck

Neck muscles, arteries, veins and nerves

Medial to lateral

1. Muscles: sternohyoid, omohyoid (parallel to one another) then thyrohyoid (superior) and sternothyroid (inferior) (both running at 45 degree angle to sternohyoid and omohyoid) and sternocleidomastoid
2. Veins: anterior jugular vein on top of sternohyoid muscle and communicating vein on top of medial edge of sternocleidomastoid, then external jugular at lateral edge of sternocleidomastoid
3. Arteries: common carotid artery is just medial and posterior to internal jugular which both lie under the sternocleidomastoid
4. Nerves: CN 10 runs in between internal jugular and common carotid artery; phrenic nerve lies posterior to the internal jugular and common carotid artery on top of the anterior scalene muscle; recurrent laryngeal nerve comes off of CN 10 after it loops around the subclavian artery and vein then follows the trachea at its lateral edge

• NOTE: left recurrent laryngeal loops down around the aortic arch and thus is much lower than the left side