Fascia

•        Fascia (pl. fasciae) derived from Latin: meaning a band.

•        Fascia is an uninterrupted, three-dimensional web of tissue that extends from head to toe, from front to back, from interior to exterior.

 

Fascia – functions

•        Maintaining structural integrity;

•        Functions as the body's second line of defense against pathogenic agents  after the skin.

•        Acts as a shock absorber.

 

Fascia – types

•        Superficial fascia

•        Deep fascia

•        Subserous fascia

 

Superficial fascia

 

–      Present beneath the skin (subcutaneously) in most regions of the body.

–      Blends with the reticular layer of the dermis.

–      Comprised mainly of loose areolar connective tissue & adipose tissue.

 

•        In addition to its subcutaneous presence, it surrounds organs, glands, neurovascular bundles & is found at many other locations where it fills otherwise unoccupied space.

 

Deep fascia

•        Fibrous sheet which invests the body under the superficial fascia.

•        Dense organized connective tissue layer.

•        Forms intermuscular septa, retinacula, palmer & planter aponeuroses & sheaths for muscles, nerves & vessels.

 

Intermuscular septa

•        Extension from the deep fascia forms intermuscular septa that divide the limbs into compartments.

 

Retinacula

•        Thickenings of deep fascia form retinacula around certain joints like wrist & ankle to keep tendons in position.

 

Deep fascia – features

•        Deep fascia itself never passes freely over the bone.

•        Where deep fascia is in contact with

   bones, it blends firmly with the  periosteum.

 

Investing fascia

•        Extension from the deep fascia that invest deep structures such as muscles & neurovascular bundles.

Subserous fascia

•        Lies between deep fascia and the serous membranes lining the body cavities.

•        E.g. Endothoracic fascia &

                          Extraperitonial fascia.