Parotid fascia

The parotid fascia in human anatomy is a fascia that builds a closed membrane together with the masseteric fascia. This common membrane sheaths the parotid gland, its excretory duct and the passing out branches of the facial nerve as well. The parotid fascia proceeds of the superficial layer of the deep cervical fascia that splits to cover the gland. At the lateral side of the gland this fascia is called the parotid fascia. The fascia itself is made of two layers: A superficial layer (lat. Lamina superficalis) that passes cranial into the temporal fascia and lateral into the masseteric fascia, and a deeper layer (lat. Lamina profunda) that covers the Stylohyoid muscle, the styloglossus and the Musculus stylopharyngeus. The superficial layer is attached to the zygomatic arch above and to the mandible below.

The fascia sends many septae that passes among the lobules of glandular tissue. With increasing weight the fascia exhibits greater splitting.

References

Parotid gland

The parotid gland (often simply "parotid") is a major salivary gland in many animals. In humans, the two parotid glands occur under the mouth and in front of both ears. They are the largest of the salivary glands. Each parotid is wrapped around the mandibular ramus, and secretes saliva through the Stensen duct (or parotid duct) into the mouth, to facilitate mastication and swallowing and to begin the digestion of starches.

The word parotid (paraotic) literally means "beside the ear".

Structure

The parotid glands are a pair of mainly serous salivary glands located inferior and anterior to the external acoustic meatus, draining their secretions into the vestibule of oral cavity through the Stensen duct or parotid duct. Each gland lies posterior to the mandibular ramus and anterior to the mastoid process of temporal bone. The gland is effectively palpated bilaterally. Start anterior to each ear, move to the cheek area, and then inferior to the angle of the mandible. The gland is roughly wedge-shaped when seen superficially and on horizontal sections.

Fascia

A fascia (/ˈfæʃə/, /ˈfæʃiə/; plural fasciae /ˈfæʃᵻ.i/; adjective fascial; from Latin: "band") is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches, stabilizes, encloses, and separates muscles and other internal organs. Fascia is classified by layer, as superficial fascia, deep fascia, and visceral or parietal fascia, or by its function and anatomical location.

Like ligaments, aponeuroses, and tendons, fascia is made up of fibrous connective tissue containing closely packed bundles of collagen fibers oriented in a wavy pattern parallel to the direction of pull. Fascia is consequently flexible and able to resist great unidirectional tension forces until the wavy pattern of fibers has been straightened out by the pulling force. These collagen fibers are produced by fibroblasts located within the fascia.

Fasciae are similar to ligaments and tendons as they have collagen as their major component. They differ in their location and function: ligaments join one bone to another bone, tendons join muscle to bone, and fasciae surround muscles or other structures.

Fascia (car)

Fascia is a term used in two areas in the automotive world.

Fascia often refers to the decorative panels of a car's dashboard, or the dashboard assembly.

Regulations affecting bumper design in the late 1970s saw the increasing use of soft plastic materials on the front and rear of vehicles. Fascia was adopted then as the term to describe these soft areas, but is now increasingly used as a general term for a car's set of front-end components: grille, headlamps, front bumper, and other details.

The name came from the Italian word fascia (pronounced [ˈfaʃʃa]), that means stripe.

References

Fascia (architecture)

Fascia (/ˈfeɪʃə/) is an architectural term for a vertical frieze or band under a roof edge, or which forms the outer surface of a cornice, visible to an observer.

Typically consisting of a wooden board, upvc or non-corrosive sheet metal, many of the non-domestic fascias made of stone form an ornately carved or pieced together cornice in which case the term fascia is rarely used.

The word fascia derives from Latin "fascia" meaning "band, bandage, ribbon, swathe". The term is also used, although less commonly, for other such band-like surfaces like a wide, flat trim strip around a doorway, different and separate from the wall surface.

The horizontal "fascia board" which caps the end of rafters outside a building may be used to hold the rain gutter. The finished surface below the fascia and rafters is called the soffit or eave.

In classical architecture, the fascia is the plain, wide band across the bottom of the entablature, directly above the columns. The "guttae" or drip edge was mounted on the fascia in the Doric order, below the triglyph.