RCA: Concept Checklist
Concepts covered across the module lectures, grouped by lecture. Tick each once you can explain it from memory.
L1 Head and Neck 1 (23 Apr) L1 RCA Head and Neck 1
- Bones and features of the skull and mandible
- Foramina of the cranial base and the structures each transmits
- Muscles of facial expression: actions, dermal attachment, origin from the 2nd pharyngeal arch
- Pharyngeal arches and their derivatives and nerve supply
- Facial nerve: intracranial course, exit via stylomastoid foramen, branches before and within the parotid, five terminal branches
- Parotid gland: location, duct course, relations (ECA, retromandibular vein), innervation, blood supply, lymphatics, clinical issues
- Arterial supply of the face: ECA branches, facial, superficial temporal and ophthalmic arteries, ECA-ICA anastomoses
- Venous drainage of the face: facial vein, pterygoid plexus, and spread of infection to the cavernous sinus
- Trigeminal nerve divisions (V1, V2, V3): function, exit points, pathways and main branches
- Cervical plexus: definition and cutaneous branches to the neck and ear
L2 Head and Neck 2 (30 Apr) L2 RCA Head and Neck 2
- Muscles of mastication: attachments, actions and innervation by the mandibular nerve
- Temporomandibular joint: type, articular surfaces, articular disc, ligaments and movements
- Infratemporal fossa: boundaries, contents and communications
- Sternocleidomastoid: attachments, innervation by the accessory nerve, action and torticollis
- Suprahyoid and infrahyoid muscle groups
- Scalene muscles
L3 Head and Neck 3 (8 May) L3 RCA Head and Neck 3
- Features of typical cervical vertebrae, and atypical C1, C2 and C7
- Atlantoaxial joint and its ligaments (transverse, cruciform, alar) and movements
- Spinal curvatures: kyphosis, lordosis, scoliosis
- Thyroid gland: location, structure, fascia and relations relevant to thyroidectomy (laryngeal nerves, carotid sheath)
- Arterial supply, venous drainage and lymphatics of the thyroid
- Phrenic nerve: roots, course over scalenus anterior, entry to thorax, motor and sensory supply of the diaphragm
- Branches of the external carotid artery in the neck, and the internal jugular vein
- Pharynx: structure, retropharyngeal space and spread of infection, soft palate muscles, tonsils