Skin of the head (face and scalp)

Cutis capitis et faciei

Integumentary (skin)SkinHead

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What it is

The skin covering the face and scalp, sculpted over the skull: forehead, brow ridges, orbits, nose, cheekbones, lips, chin and jaw line. Facial skin is thin, very vascular and rich in sebaceous glands; scalp skin is thick and carries about 100 000 hair follicles.

Function

Protects the head, senses touch, pain and temperature (trigeminal nerve), and is moved by the muscles of facial expression, which insert directly into it.

Size

Face–scalp height ~23 cm (chin to crown), head width ~15.5 cm, length ~19.5 cm; skin 0.5 mm (eyelids) to 3–5 mm (scalp) thick

Clinical note

Scalp wounds bleed heavily because the vessels are held open by dense connective tissue. The scalp layers spell SCALP: Skin, Connective tissue, Aponeurosis, Loose areolar tissue, Pericranium.