In human anatomy, the head is at the top of the

human body The human body is the entire structure of a Human, human being. It is composed of many different types of Cell (biology), cells that together create Tissue (biology), tissues and subsequently Organ (biology), organs and then Organ system, org ...

. It supports the face and is maintained by the skull, which itself encloses the

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

Structure

The human head consists of a fleshy outer portion, which surrounds the bony skull. The brain is enclosed within the skull. There are 22 bones in the human head. The head rests on the

neck The neck is the part of the body in many vertebrates that connects the head to the torso. It supports the weight of the head and protects the nerves that transmit sensory and motor information between the brain and the rest of the body. Addition ...

, and the seven

cervical vertebrae In tetrapods, cervical vertebrae (: vertebra) are the vertebrae of the neck, immediately below the skull. Truncal vertebrae (divided into thoracic and lumbar vertebrae in mammals) lie caudal (toward the tail) of cervical vertebrae. In saurop ...

support it. The human head typically weighs between Over 98% of humans fit into this range. There have been odd incidences where human beings have abnormally small or large heads. The Zika virus was responsible for underdeveloped heads in the early 2000s. The face is the

anterior Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...

part of the head, containing the eyes, nose, and

mouth A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...

. On either side of the mouth, the

cheek The cheeks () constitute the area of the face below the eyes and between the nose and the left or right ear. ''Buccal'' means relating to the cheek. In humans, the region is innervated by the buccal nerve. The area between the inside of th ...

s provide a fleshy border to the

oral cavity A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also the first part of the alime ...

. The ears sit to either side of the head.

Blood supply

The head receives blood supply through the internal and external

carotid arteries In anatomy, the left and right common carotid arteries (carotids) () are arteries that supply the head and neck with oxygenated blood; they divide in the neck to form the external and internal carotid arteries. Structure The common carotid ...

. These supply the area outside of the skull ( external carotid artery) and inside of the skull (

internal carotid artery The internal carotid artery is an artery in the neck which supplies the anterior cerebral artery, anterior and middle cerebral artery, middle cerebral circulation. In human anatomy, the internal and external carotid artery, external carotid ari ...

). The area inside the skull also receives blood supply from the vertebral arteries, which travel up through the cervical vertebrae.

Nerve supply

The twelve pairs of cranial nerves provide the majority of nervous control to the head. The sensation to the face is provided by the branches of the

trigeminal nerve In neuroanatomy, the trigeminal nerve (literal translation, lit. ''triplet'' nerve), also known as the fifth cranial nerve, cranial nerve V, or simply CN V, is a cranial nerve responsible for Sense, sensation in the face and motor functions ...

, the fifth cranial nerve. Sensation to other portions of the head is provided by the cervical nerves. Modern texts are in agreement about which areas of the skin are served by which nerves, but there are minor variations in some of the details. The borders designated by diagrams in the 1918 edition of Gray's Anatomy are similar but not identical to those generally accepted today. The cutaneous innervation of the head is as follows: * Ophthalmic nerve (green) *

Maxillary nerve In neuroanatomy, the maxillary nerve (V) is one of the three branches or divisions of the trigeminal nerve, the fifth (CN V) cranial nerve. It comprises the principal functions of Sense, sensation from the maxilla, nasal cavity, Sinus (anatomy ...

(pink) *

Mandibular nerve In neuroanatomy, the mandibular nerve (V) is the largest of the three divisions of the trigeminal nerve, the fifth Cranial nerves, cranial nerve (CN V). Unlike the other divisions of the trigeminal nerve (ophthalmic nerve, maxillary nerve) which ...

(yellow) * Cervical plexus (purple) * Dorsal rami of cervical nerves (blue) and others are in picture which show following in upper column

Function

The head contains sensory organs: two eyes, two ears, a nose and

tongue The tongue is a Muscle, muscular organ (anatomy), organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for chewing and swallowing as part of the digestive system, digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper s ...

inside of the mouth. It also houses the

. Together, these organs function as a processing center for the body by relaying sensory information to the brain. Humans can process information faster by having this central nerve cluster.

Society and culture

For

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

s, the front of the head (the face) is the main distinguishing feature between different people due to its easily discernible features, such as eye and hair colors, shapes of the sensory organs, and the wrinkles. Humans easily differentiate between faces because of the brain's predisposition toward facial recognition. When observing a relatively unfamiliar species, all faces seem nearly identical. Human infants are biologically programmed to recognize subtle differences in anthropomorphic facial features. COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Een Ibu Dajak krijger uit Long Nawan Z

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Een Ibu Dajak krijger uit Long Nawan Z

People who have greater than average intelligence are sometimes depicted in cartoons as having bigger heads as a way of notionally indicating that they have a "larger head". Additionally, in

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

, an extraterrestrial having a big head is often symbolic of high intelligence. Despite this depiction, advances in

neurobiology Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

have shown that the functional diversity of the brain means that a difference in overall brain size is only slightly to moderately correlated to differences in overall intelligence between two humans. The head is a source for many metaphors and metonymies in

human language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

, including referring to things typically near the human head ( "the head of the bed"), things physically similar to the way a head is arranged spatially to a body ("the head of the table"), metaphorically ("the head of the class"), and things that represent some characteristics associated with the head, such as intelligence ("there are a lot of good heads in this company"). Ancient Greeks had a method for evaluating sexual attractiveness based on the

Golden ratio In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their summation, sum to the larger of the two quantities. Expressed algebraically, for quantities and with , is in a golden ratio to if \fr ...

, part of which included measurements of the head. Headhunting is the practice of taking and preserving a person's head after killing the person. Headhunting has been practiced across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania for millennia.

Clothing

Headpieces can signify status, origin, religious/spiritual beliefs, social grouping, team affiliation, occupation, or fashion choices. In many cultures, covering the head is seen as a sign of respect. Often, some or all of the head must be covered and veiled when entering holy places or places of prayer. For many centuries, women in Europe, the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, and

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

have covered their head hair as a sign of modesty. This trend has changed drastically in Europe in the 20th century, although is still observed in other parts of the world. In addition, a number of religions require men to wear specific head clothing—such as the

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

taqiyah,

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

yarmulke, or the Sikh turban. The same goes for women with the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

hijab or

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

nun's habit. A

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

is a head covering that can serve a variety of purposes. Hats may be worn as part of a uniform or used as a protective device, such as a

hard hat A hard hat is a type of helmet predominantly used in hazardous environments such as industrial or construction sites to protect the Human head, head from injury due to falling objects (such as tools and debris), impact with other objects, and ...

, a covering for warmth, a covering that meets sensory needs in some neurodivergent people, or a fashion accessory. Hats can also be indicative of social status in some areas of the world.

Anthropometry Anthropometry (, ) refers to the measurement of the human individual. An early tool of biological anthropology, physical anthropology, it has been used for identification, for the purposes of understanding human physical variation, in paleoanthr ...

While numerous charts detailing head sizes in infants and children exist, most do not measure average head circumference past the age of 21. Reference charts for adult head circumference also generally feature homogeneous samples and fail to take height and weight into account. One study in the United States estimated the average human head circumference to be in males and in females. A British study by

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

showed an average size of 57.2 cm for males and 55.2 cm for females with average size varying proportionally with height

Macrocephaly Macrocephaly is a condition in which circumference of the human head is abnormally large. It may be pathological or harmless, and can be a Heredity, familial genetic characteristic. People diagnosed with macrocephaly will receive further medical ...

can be an indicator of increased risk for some types of cancer in individuals who carry the genetic mutation that causes Cowden syndrome. For adults, this refers to head sizes greater than 58 centimeters in men or greater than 57 centimeters in women.