Your neck does a lot more than hold your head up. It houses your airway, protects major blood vessels, supports the weight of your skull, and lets you turn, tilt, and nod dozens of times every hour without a second thought. Pound for pound, it is one of the hardest-working regions of your entire body.
Yet most people could not name more than one or two structures in their own neck if asked. That is a shame, because even a basic understanding of neck anatomy can help you communicate better with doctors, grasp why certain injuries feel the way they do, and appreciate the engineering packed into such a small space.
The good news is that neck anatomy does not have to feel like a medical school lecture. Below, you will find a clear, labeled diagram and a plain-language breakdown of every part it highlights, from the bony landmarks near your collarbone all the way up to the soft triangle tucked beneath your jaw.
Neck Parts Diagram & Details
The diagram featured here is a classic anatomical illustration showing the lateral (side) view of a male neck with the head tilted back. This position stretches the skin and soft tissue, making the underlying muscles, cartilages, and bony landmarks much easier to see and label. Lines extend from the surface of the neck outward to the names of twelve distinct structures, arranged roughly from the upper throat down to the collarbone and shoulder area.
What makes this particular view so useful is that it captures structures you can actually feel on your own body right now. If you run your fingers from the notch at the base of your throat up to the underside of your chin, you will pass over almost every landmark shown. The sections that follow walk through each one, explaining what it is, where it sits, and why it matters to your everyday health and movement.
1. Submaxillary Triangle
The submaxillary triangle, sometimes called the submandibular triangle, is a small, roughly triangular area located beneath the lower jaw on either side of the neck. Its boundaries are formed by the lower edge of the jawbone above and the two bellies of the digastric muscle below. You can find it by tilting your head back slightly and pressing gently into the soft tissue just under your chin, a little off to one side.
This region is significant because it contains the submandibular salivary gland, one of three major pairs of glands responsible for producing saliva. Lymph nodes also cluster here, which is why a doctor will often press under your jaw during a routine physical exam. Swollen nodes in the submaxillary triangle can signal anything from a common throat infection to a dental abscess.
Beyond glands and nodes, several important nerves and blood vessels pass through this tight space, including branches of the facial artery. Surgeons pay close attention to the submaxillary triangle during procedures on the mouth, throat, or salivary glands to avoid damaging those delicate structures.
2. Hyoid Bone
Sitting just above the thyroid cartilage and below the chin, the hyoid bone is one of the most unusual bones in the human body. It is the only bone that does not directly articulate (connect) with any other bone. Instead, it is suspended in place by muscles and ligaments, almost like a floating anchor in the front of your neck.
Despite its small, horseshoe-like shape, the hyoid plays a critical role in swallowing and speech. Every time you swallow a sip of water or say a word, muscles attached to the hyoid pull it upward and forward, helping to close off your airway so food and liquid head down the right pipe. Without it, coordinated swallowing would be nearly impossible.
3. Thyroid Cartilage
The thyroid cartilage is the largest piece of cartilage in the larynx, and it is the structure most people recognize as the “Adam’s apple.” You can feel it as a firm, shield-shaped bump in the middle of your throat, more prominent in men than in women due to hormonal differences that cause the cartilage to grow at a sharper angle during puberty.
Its primary job is to protect the vocal cords housed directly behind it. Think of it as a biological shield for your voice box. When air from your lungs passes over the vocal cords, they vibrate to produce sound, and the thyroid cartilage keeps those delicate folds safe from external impact.
Aside from protection, the angle of the thyroid cartilage also influences vocal pitch. A larger, more sharply angled cartilage typically produces a deeper voice, which is one reason male voices tend to sit lower on the pitch scale after adolescence.
4. Cricoid Cartilage
Just below the thyroid cartilage sits the cricoid cartilage, a complete ring of cartilage that wraps all the way around the airway. While the thyroid cartilage is open at the back, the cricoid forms a closed circle, giving it a signet-ring shape — narrow in front and wider at the back.
This full-ring design makes the cricoid the strongest cartilage in the larynx and the only one that provides 360-degree structural support for the airway. It serves as an attachment point for muscles and ligaments that help open and close the vocal cords. In emergency medicine, the cricoid is a key landmark: applying gentle backward pressure on it (a technique called cricoid pressure) can help prevent stomach contents from entering the lungs during intubation.
5. Sternocleidomastoideus (Sternocleidomastoid)
The sternocleidomastoideus — usually shortened to SCM — is the large, rope-like muscle that runs diagonally across each side of the neck. You can see it pop out clearly when you turn your head to one side. It originates from two heads at the base of the neck (more on those shortly) and inserts into the mastoid process, a bony bump just behind your ear.
When one SCM contracts on its own, it tilts your head to the same side and rotates your face to the opposite side. When both SCMs fire together, they flex your neck forward, bringing your chin down toward your chest. This makes the muscle essential for everyday actions like checking your blind spot while driving or looking down at your phone.
The SCM is also a common source of neck pain and tension headaches. Prolonged poor posture, especially the forward-head position many people adopt while working at a desk, can leave the SCM chronically tight. Gentle stretching and posture correction often bring noticeable relief.
6. Trapezius
The trapezius is a broad, flat muscle that spans the back of the neck and upper back, extending from the base of the skull down to the middle of the spine and out to the shoulder blade. In the diagram, only its upper portion is visible where it meets the side of the neck, but the full muscle is one of the largest in the upper body.
Your upper trapezius is what lifts and stabilizes your shoulders. It fires every time you shrug, carry a heavy bag over one shoulder, or hold a phone between your ear and shoulder (a habit worth breaking, by the way). Because it bears so much daily load, the upper trap is one of the most common sites for muscle knots and tension-related discomfort.
7. Supraclavicular Fossa
The supraclavicular fossa is a visible dip or hollow that sits just above the collarbone, on either side of the lower neck. You can usually see it when someone is lean or when the head is tilted back, as in the diagram. It is not a bone or a muscle itself — it is a depression formed by the surrounding anatomy.
Beneath this small hollow lies a cluster of lymph nodes, as well as portions of the brachial plexus, the nerve network that supplies your arm and hand. Doctors sometimes check the supraclavicular fossa for swollen lymph nodes during exams, because enlargement here can be associated with infections, inflammatory conditions, or, less commonly, certain cancers.
Despite being easy to overlook, the supraclavicular fossa is a valuable surface landmark. Anesthesiologists use it to guide nerve block injections for shoulder and arm surgeries, making it a reference point that punches well above its size in clinical importance.
8. Clavicle
The clavicle, better known as the collarbone, is the long, S-shaped bone that runs horizontally from the top of your sternum (breastbone) out to each shoulder. It is one of the most commonly fractured bones in the body, often broken by a fall onto an outstretched hand or a direct blow to the shoulder.
Functionally, the clavicle acts as a strut that holds your shoulder joint away from the trunk of your body, giving your arm a full range of motion. Without it, your shoulder would collapse inward. It also serves as a protective bar for the blood vessels and nerves running just beneath it on their way to and from the arm.
9. Infraclavicular Fossa
Directly below the clavicle, there is another shallow depression known as the infraclavicular fossa. It is bordered by the collarbone above, the deltoid muscle on the outer edge, and the pectoralis major (chest muscle) on the inner edge. Like its neighbor above the collarbone, it is a soft-tissue landmark rather than a distinct organ.
This area is clinically relevant because the cephalic vein, a major superficial vein of the arm, travels through it on its way to deeper vessels. The infraclavicular fossa is also a preferred site for placing certain types of central venous catheters and pacemaker leads, largely because it provides relatively easy access to the subclavian vein beneath.
10. Jugular Notch
The jugular notch, sometimes called the suprasternal notch, is the visible dip at the very top of the sternum, right between the two collarbones. If you place a finger at the base of your throat where the neck meets the chest, you will feel a small, concave indentation — that is the jugular notch.
It gets its name from its proximity to the jugular veins, although the veins themselves sit a bit to either side. In clinical practice, the jugular notch is used as a surface landmark for measuring the position of the trachea (windpipe). A trachea that is shifted to one side rather than sitting centered above the notch can indicate serious conditions like a collapsed lung or a mass in the chest.
Beyond medicine, the jugular notch is a reference point tailors and costume designers use to measure neck and torso proportions, proof that anatomy knowledge stretches far beyond the hospital.
11. Clavicular Head of the Sternocleidomastoid
The sternocleidomastoid muscle splits into two separate attachment points at its lower end, and the clavicular head is the outer one. It originates from the upper surface of the inner third of the clavicle, then angles upward to merge with the sternal head before the combined muscle inserts behind the ear.
Because it sits slightly lateral and deeper than the sternal head, the clavicular head is a bit less visible under the skin, though you may see or feel the gap between the two heads if you tense your neck muscles in front of a mirror. This small gap actually forms a minor triangle used as a landmark for locating the internal jugular vein during medical procedures.
12. Sternal Head of the Sternocleidomastoid
The sternal head is the more medial (inner) of the two lower attachments of the SCM. It arises from the front surface of the manubrium, which is the upper portion of the sternum. Compared to the clavicular head, the sternal head tends to be more prominent and easier to see, especially when you rotate your head to the opposite side.
Together, the sternal and clavicular heads create the characteristic “V” shape visible at the base of the neck in lean or muscular individuals. Their slightly different angles of pull give the SCM a broader base of support, improving the muscle’s leverage for head rotation and flexion.
Understanding where each head attaches helps physical therapists and massage therapists target the right fibers when treating neck stiffness or torticollis, a condition in which the SCM on one side becomes abnormally tight and pulls the head into a tilted position.
