The surgical anatomy of the subcutaneous fascial system of the scalp

The surgical anatomy of the fascial layers and vascularization of the scalp was studied by means of 11 bilateral cadaver dissections. This article is organized as follows: first, a description of the layers and fasciae of the scalp and their relationships with the main vascular structures, and then a description of the histological structure of the subgaleal fascia (composed of multiple connective vascularized sheets that glide over one another) and of its blood supply. In our dissections, we found the constant topographic distribution of the major perforant vessels to the subgaleal tissues as follows: in the temporal region, perforant vessels from the superficial temporal artery near and 10 to 14 cm above the zygomatic arch, where the superficial temporal artery leaves the surface of the galea to enter the superficial subcutaneous tissue, and in the frontoparietoccipital region, many small perforant vessels evenly entering the subgaleal plane every 5 to 10 mm. These findings could lead to greater use of fascial or' composite flaps from the scalp region.