Danger space
| Danger space | |
|---|---|
 Section of the neck at about the level of the sixth cervical vertebra. Showing the arrangement of the fascia coli. | |
The danger space is a region of the neck.[1]
Anatomy
It is bounded superiorly by the skull base, anteriorly by the alar fascia and posteriorly by the prevertebral fascia. It comes to an end at the level of the diaphragm.
The retropharyngeal space is found anterior to the danger zone, between the buccopharnygeal fascia and alar fascia. There exists a midline raphe in this space so some infections of this space appear unilateral.
Imaging
On CT or MRI it is only visible when distended by fluid or pus, below the level of T1-T6, as the retropharyngeal space ends at this level, allowing distinction between the two entities.[2]
History
It was first characterized in 1938.[3][4]
Clinical significance
It gets its common name from the risk that an infection in this space can spread directly to the thorax, it is sometimes also referred to as the Alar space. It is a median space without a midline raphe and hence infection can spread easily to either side.
See also
References
- ↑ Reynolds SC, Chow AW (2009). "Severe soft tissue infections of the head and neck: a primer for critical care physicians". Lung. 187 (5): 271–9. doi:10.1007/s00408-009-9153-7. PMID 19653038.
- ↑ Hoang, JK; Branstetter BF, 4th; Eastwood, JD; Glastonbury, CM (April 2011). "Multiplanar CT and MRI of collections in the retropharyngeal space: is it an abscess?". AJR. American journal of roentgenology. 196 (4): W426–32. doi:10.2214/AJR.10.5116. PMID 21427307.
- ↑ Adelson, Robert T. (2005). "Minimally invasive transoral catheter-assisted drainage of a danger-space infection". Ear, Nose & Throat Journal. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
- ↑ Grodinsky M, Holyoke EA. The fasciae and fascial spaces of the head, neck and adjacent regions. Am J Anat 1938;63:367-408.