Practice Quiz - Posterior Triangle of the Neck
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  1. A muscular patient who regularly lifts weights presents with pain and weakness in his right upper limb that has been slowly developing over time. His limb is cool and there is an obvious vascular insufficiency in his upper extremity. Subsequent tests show that a large vessel passing between the anterior and middle scalene muscles is being occluded by hypertrophy (enlargement) of the muscles due to the excercise. The artery involved is the:
    axillary
    brachial
    brachiocephalic
    subclavian
    suprascapular
  2. In repairing a damaged right subclavian artery, the surgeon notices and protects a large nerve passing around to the posterior surface of the artery. This nerve, which does not encircle the subclavian on the left side, is the:
    Phrenic
    Vagus
    Recurrent laryngeal
    Sympathetic trunk
    Ansa cervicalis
  3. A stab wound just above the left clavicle, lateral to the sternocleidomastoid muscle, may be life-threatening because of the possibility of injury to the:
    Brachial plexus
    Internal jugular vein
    Axillary artery
    Subclavian artery
    Thoracic duct
  4. A 27-year-old man who is a professional weight lifter comes to his physician complaining of recent weakness in his left arm and frequent tingling in his hand and fingers during exercise sessions which subsides with rest. He is diagnosed as having vasuclar insufficiency due to scalenus anticus syndrome and as a remedy it is decided to transect the anterior scalene muscle where it inserts on the first rib. During surgery, which structure in contact with the anterior surface of the muscle must the surgeon be careful of sparing?
    Inferior trunk of the brachial plexus
    Long thoracic nerve
    Phrenic nerve
    Sympathetic trunk
    Vagus nerve
  5. A 60-year-old man with a previous history of right carotid endarterectomy, comes to his physician complaining of light-headedness and dizziness whenever he uses his right hand vigorously. He is diagnosed as having subclavian steal syndrome due to an atherosclerotic plaque at the point where his subclavian artery branches from the brachiocephalic trunk. The cerebral insufficiency is the result of blood being stolen from which artery?
    External carotid
    Internal carotid
    Middle cerebral
    Thyrocervical trunk
    Vertebral
  6. A first year resident attempts to insert a central venous catheter into the heart by a subclavicular approach to the subclavian vein. Following the attempt, it is noted that the patient has difficulty breathing. What nervous structure lying immediately deep to the subclavian vein, as it crosses the anterior scalene muscle, may have been injured?
    External branch of the superior laryngeal nerve
    Phrenic nerve
    Recurrent laryngeal nerve
    Sympathetic trunk
    Vagus nerve
  7. Which statement is true of the internal jugular vein?
    It drains all of the thyroid gland on that side of the body
    It drains into the external jugular vein
    It is accompanied by the deep cervical chain of lymph nodes
    It lies deep to the prevertebral fascia
    It passes superficial to the sternocleidomastoid muscle
  8. Which structure lies immediately anterior to the right anterior scalene muscle at its costal attachment?
    Subclavian artery
    Subclavian vein
    Thoracic duct
    Thyrocervical trunk
    Vagus nerve
  9. A person develops a primary tumor of the thyroid gland and, among other symptoms, drooping of the eyelid and constriction of the pupil on the right side of the eye are noted. What nerve fibers have been interrupted by the tumor?

    postganglionic parasympathetic
    postganglionic sympathetic
    preganglionic parasympathetic
    the carotid nerve
    the cervical sympathetic trunk
  10. An abscess was surgically removed from the middle of the posterior triangle on the right side. During recovery the patient noticed that her shoulder drooped and she could no longer raise her right hand above her head to brush her hair. Which nerve has been cut?
    Accessory (XI)
    Ansa cervicalis
    Facial (VII)
    Hypoglossal (XII)
    Suprascapular
  11. A surgeon doing a deep cervical lymph node dissection may encounter these structures upon the anterior surface of the anterior scalene muscle EXCEPT:
    Phrenic nerve
    Subclavian vein
    Middle trunk of the brachial plexus
    Transverse cervical artery
    Cervical part of the thoracic duct
  12. The middle cervical sympathetic ganglion, recurrent laryngeal nerve, and parathyroid glands are all closely related with which blood vessel?
    Inferior thyroid artery
    Inferior thyroid vein
    Superior thyroid artery
    Superior thyroid vein
  13. During surgical procedures of the neck, structures within the carotid sheath can be retracted (pulled aside) as a unit. Which of the following structures would remain in place when the carotid sheath is retracted?
    common carotid artery
    cervical sympathetic trunk
    internal jugular vein
    internal carotid artery
    vagus nerve
  14. Which of the following nerves is derived from the dorsal primary rami of spinal nerves?
    great auricular
    greater occipital
    lesser occipital
    phrenic
    supraclavicular
  15. Which of the following hyoid muscles is an important landmark in both the anterior and posterior triangles of the neck?
    geniohyoid
    mylohyoid
    omohyoid
    sternohyoid
    stylohyoid