Deep fascia

Deep fascia (or "investing fascia") is a layer of fascia which can surround individual muscles, and divide groups of muscles into compartments.

This is the dense fibrous connective tissue that interpenetrates and surrounds the muscles, bones, nerves and blood vessels of the body. It provides connection and communication in the form of aponeuroses, ligaments, tendons, retinacula, joint capsules, and septa. The deep fasciae envelop all bone (periosteum and endosteum); cartilage (perichondrium), and blood vessels (tunica externa) and become specialized in muscles (epimysium, perimysium, and endomysium) and nerves (epineurium, perineurium, and endoneurium). The high density of collagen fibers is what gives the deep fascia its strength and integrity. The amount of elastin fiber determines how much extensibility and resilience it will have.

Examples

Examples include:

• Fascia lata
• Fascia cruris
• Brachial fascia
• Buck's fascia

Fascial dynamics

Deep fascia is less extensible than superficial fascia. It is essentially avascular, but is richly innervated with sensory receptors that report the presence of pain (nociceptors);...
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