Now pry the anterior part of the skull away together with the
viscera and contents of the carotid sheath. This dissection
shows the results of exposing the carotid sheath and the constrictor muscles.
The sympathetic cervical chain and ganglia may remain on the prevertebral muscles or accompany
the pharynx.
Carefully remove the buccopharyngeal fascia and the plexus of nerves & veins to
clean the constrictor muscles (superior, middle, inferior).
Open the pharynx by making a transverse cut in the posterior wall just below the base
of the skull and a longitudinal cut along the median raphe as shown in this
dissection.
Find the uvula, epiglottis, lateral epiglottic folds, salpingopharyngeal fold/muscle,
and the torus tubarius. If you do not see all of these structures now, they will be more easily
seen when yo bisect the head.
Palpate the styloid
process to help you locate the stylopharyngeus muscle. Find the glossopharyngeal
nerve where it curves around the muscle and penetrates the pharyngeal wall on its
way to the base of the tongue. Finish cleaning the arteries, nerves and other
muscles in this region. HINT: Remember, you have already dissected many of these structures (e.g., superior
laryngeal branch of the vagus) in the anterior neck.
If you find and tug on them anteriorly, it will help you locate and clean them from this posterior
view.
