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scalp

 
Dictionary: scalp   (skălp) pronunciation
n.
  1. The skin covering the top of the human head.
  2. A portion of this skin with its attached hair, cut from a body especially as a battle trophy or as proof in claiming a bounty.
  3. A piece of hide from the skull of certain animals, such as the fox, shown as proof of killing in order to collect a bounty.
  4. A trophy of victory.

v., scalped, scalp·ing, scalps.

v.tr.
  1. To cut or tear the scalp from.
  2. To deprive of top growth or a top layer: land scalped by strip miners.
  3. To resell at a price higher than the established value: scalping tickets to the baseball game.
  4. To buy and sell (securities or commodities) in order to make small quick profits.
v.intr.
  1. To engage in the reselling of something, such as tickets, at a price higher than the established value.
  2. To buy and sell securities or commodities for small quick profits.

[Middle English, top of the head, of Scandinavian origin.]

scalper scalp'er n.

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Thesaurus: scalp
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verb

    To exploit (another) by charging too much for something: fleece, overcharge. Slang clip1, gouge, nick, rip off, skin, soak. Idioms: make someone pay through the nose, take someone for a ride, take someone to the cleaners. See honest/dishonest.

Word Origin: scalp
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Origin: 1675

In warfare, the Indians had lessons for the colonists just as the colonists had for the Indians. True, the Indians lacked firearms, but they fought with skill, tactics, and courage, and made expert use of natural cover, impressing even their fiercest military counterparts from across the sea. They also had a method of confirming and commemorating kills in battle that particularly impressed the Europeans.

As evidence that an Indian had killed his enemy, he would cut off the man's scalp with the hair on it and carry it home, there to be honored as a trophy. The verb scalp must have been in use to describe this practice by 1675, because it appears in a book of 1676: "Laying him for dead, they flead (or skulp'd) his head of skin and hair."

The newcomers did not shrink from learning the technique. In 1697 Samuel Sewall of Boston noted in his diary the story of a young man taken captive by Indians: "The single man [an Indian] shewed the night before, to Samuel Lennarson, how he used to knock Englishmen on the head and take off their Scalps; little thinking that the Captives would make some of their first experiment upon himself. Samuel Lennarson kill'd him."

Fortunately, that kind of scalping exists only in history, but present-day scalpers (1869) still actively scalp tickets to shows and sporting events, making a killing by buying the tickets at list or cut-rate prices and then turning around and selling them to the highest bidder.



 
scalp, the integument covering the top of the head. It consists of three layers of tissue: the skin, an underlying layer of tissue and blood vessels, and the occipitofrontalis muscle stretching from the eyebrows to the back of the head. Except for its abundant growth of hair, the skin of the scalp resembles that of the rest of the body but is especially rich in blood vessels. Hence profuse bleeding may be associated with scalp injuries.


Wikipedia: Scalp
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Scalp
Double cowlick.jpg
Gray's subject #105 378
Artery supratrochlear, supraorbital, superficial temporal, occipital
Vein superficial temporal, posterior auricular, occipital
Nerve supratrochlear, supraorbital, greater occipital, lesser occipital
Lymph occipital, mastoid
MeSH Scalp

The scalp is the anatomical area bordered by the face anteriorly and the neck to the sides and posteriorly.

Contents

Layers

It is usually described as having five layers, which can be remembered with the mnemonic "SCALP":[1].

  • S: The skin on the head from which head hair grows. It is richly supplied with blood vessels.
  • C: Connective tissue. A thin layer of fat and fibrous tissue lies beneath the skin.
  • A: The aponeurosis called epicranial aponeurosis (or galea aponeurotica) is the next layer. It is a tough layer of dense fibrous tissue which runs from the frontalis muscle anteriorly to the occipitalis posteriorly.
  • L: The loose areolar connective tissue layer provides an easy plane of separation between the upper three layers and the pericranium. In scalping the scalp is torn off through this layer. It also provides a plane of access in craniofacial surgery and neurosurgery. This layer is sometimes referred to as the "Danger Zone" because of the ease by which infectious agents can spread through it to emissary veins which then drain into the cranium. The loose areolar tissue in this layer is made up of random collagen I bundles, collagen III. It contains the majors blood vessels of the scalp, which bleed profusely upon injury, partly due to the absence of venous valves found in the circulation below the neck. It will also be rich in glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and will be constituted of more matrix than fibers.
  • P: The pericranium is the periosteum of the skull bones and provides nutrition to the bone and the capacity for repair. It may be lifted from the bone to allow removal of bone windows (craniotomy).


The clinically important layer is the aponeurosis. Scalp lacerations through this layer mean that the "anchoring" of the superficial layers is lost and gaping of the wound occurs; this requires suturing. This can be achieved with simple or vertical matress sutures using a non-absorbable material, which are subsequently removed at around days 7-10.

Blood supply

The blood supply of the scalp is via five pairs of arteries, three from the external carotid and two from the internal carotid:

  • internal carotid
    • the supratrochlear artery to the midline forehead. supratrochlear artery is a branch of ophthalmic branch of the internal carotid artery.
    • the supraorbital artery to the lateral forehead and scalp as far up as the vertex. supraorbital artery is a branch of ophthalmic branch of the internal carotid artery.
  • external carotid
    • the superficial temporal artery which gives frontal and parietal branches to supply much of the scalp
    • the occipital artery which runs from posteriorly to supply much of the back of the scalp.
    • the posterior auricular artery , a branch of the external carotid artery , ascends behind the auricle to supply the scalp above and behind the auricle.

Innervation

Innervation is the connection of nerves to the scalp; the sensory and motor nerves innervating the scalp. The scalp is innervated by the following:[2]

There are no lymph nodes in the scalp; lymphatic drainage is to the pre- and post-auricular nodes.

Role in aesthetics

The scalp plays an important role in the aesthetics of the face. Androgenic alopecia, or male pattern hair loss, is a common cause of concern to men. It may be treated by medication (eg finasteride, minoxidil) or hair transplantation with variable success. If the scalp is heavy and loose, a common change with aging, the forehead may be low, heavy and deeply lined. The brow lift procedure aims to address these concerns.

Pathology

The scalp is a common site for the development of tumours including:

Scalp conditions

See also

  • Trichology -- the scientific study of hair and scalp
  • Trichodynia -- burning scalp syndrome
  • Scalping -- the act of removing the scalp, usually with the hair, as a portable proof or trophy of prowess in war.

Additional images

References

  1. ^ Mnemonic at medicalmnemonics.com 258
  2. ^ Mnemonic at medicalmnemonics.com 2046

External links


Translations: Scalp
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - skalp, hovedbund, lille hurtig gevinst
v. tr. - skalpere, flå
v. intr. - spekulere, sjakre

Nederlands (Dutch)
hoofdhuid, scalp, scalperen, speculeren, kaartjes duur doorverkopen

Français (French)
n. - (Anat) cuir chevelu, (fig) scalp
v. tr. - scalper, (fig) écraser, (US) revendre (qch) au marché noir, (US, Fin) spéculer sur (des stocks)
v. intr. - boursicoter (à la Bourse), revendre au marché noir

Deutsch (German)
n. - Skalp, Kopfhaut, (Sieges)trophäe
v. - skalpieren, fertigmachen, zu überhöhtem Preis weiterverkaufen, Profit aus kl. Kursschwankungen ziehen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - δέρμα του κρανίου, τριχωτό της κεφαλής, (μτφ.) τρόπαιο
v. - γδέρνω κρανίο (εχθρού), (ΗΠΑ, καθομ.) κατατροπώνω, καταληστεύω, επικρίνω έντονα

Italiano (Italian)
scotennare, scalpo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - couro cabeludo (m), escalpo (m), troféu (m)
v. - escalpar

Русский (Russian)
кожа черепа, скальп, оголенная вершина горы, скальпировать, резко критиковать, мошенничать, перепродавать (театральные билеты) с большой наценкой

Español (Spanish)
n. - escalpe, cuero cabelludo, piel de la cabeza y cuello de un animal
v. tr. - revender, escalpar, arrancar el cuero cabelludo, criticar despiadadamente, pelar, quitar la parte superior
v. intr. - tropezarse

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - hårbotten, huvudsvål, skalp, hjässa, kal bergstopp, snabb extraförtjänst
v. - skalpera, hudflänga, gå hårt åt, spekulera, sälja svart

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
头皮, 剥下...的头皮, 击败, 欺骗, 劫夺, 转手倒卖, 做黄牛生意

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 頭皮
v. tr. - 剝下...的頭皮, 擊敗, 欺騙, 劫奪, 轉手倒賣
v. intr. - 轉手倒賣, 做黃牛生意

한국어 (Korean)
n. - (동물의) 머릿 가죽, 전리품, (전매에 의한) 작은 이득
v. tr. - ~의 머릿 껍질을 벗기다, (도로를) 평평히 고르다, 창피를 주다
v. intr. - 차익금을 벌다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 頭の皮, 毛のついた頭皮, 戦利品, 頭皮
v. - 頭の皮をはぐ, ダフ屋をする, 頭皮をはぐ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) فروة ألرأس, (فعل) يسلخ فروة ألرأس,‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮קרקפת, עור הגולגולת‬
v. tr. - ‮הביס, השפיל, מתח ביקורת פראית על‬
v. intr. - ‮ספסר (בכרטיסים או במניות)‬


 
 
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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Word Origin. America in So Many Words, by David K.Barnhart and Allan A. Metcalf. Copyright © 1997 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Scalp" Read more
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