Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (724 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
The outer covering of the calvaria. It is composed of several layers: SKIN; subcutaneous connective tissue; the occipitofrontal muscle which includes the tendinous galea aponeurotica; loose connective tissue; and the pericranium (the periosteum of the skull).
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Scalps.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Head
Related concepts
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 16,261 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Scalp” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 2,932 of them (18.0%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is through 1999 with 6,361 records.
Reviews account for 1,247 records (7.7%) and meta-analyses for 60. Randomized controlled trials number 407 (2.5%) as a share of all records on the topic.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 6,361 |
| 2000-2009 | 2,771 |
| 2010-2019 | 4,197 |
| 2020 onward | 2,932 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 1,247 | 7.7% |
| Meta-analyses | 60 | 0.4% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 407 | 2.5% |
Method: PubMed query "Scalp"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in anatomy and physiology
Anatomy describes how body structures are built and physiology describes how they normally work, so most findings here are descriptive or mechanistic rather than evidence about treatment. Much of what is known comes from dissection, imaging, tissue studies and experiments in animals, and measurements in healthy volunteers can differ from those in people with disease or at different ages. Normal ranges vary between individuals and populations. Check whether a result was measured in people or in another species, the age and health of the participants, and the method used.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics of Waveform Shape in Parkinson's Disease Detected with Scalp Electroencephalography | 2019 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 76 | cc by PMID 31110135 · DOI · PMC6553574 |
| Autologous Micrografts from Scalp Tissue: Trichoscopic and Long-Term Clinical Evaluation in Male and Female Androgenetic Alopecia | 2020 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 69 | cc by PMID 32071919 · DOI · PMC7007958 |
| Scalp bacterial shift in Alopecia areata | 2019 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 63 | cc by PMID 30973913 · DOI · PMC6459526 |
| EEG-to-EEG: Scalp-to-Intracranial EEG Translation Using a Combination of Variational Autoencoder and Generative Adversarial Networks | 2025 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 6 | cc by PMID 39860864 · DOI · PMC11769358 |
Characteristics of Waveform Shape in Parkinson's Disease Detected with Scalp Electroencephalography [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Neural activity in the β frequency range (13-30 Hz) is excessively synchronized in Parkinson's disease (PD).
- Closing excerpt
- Moreover, they motivate the consideration of waveform shape in future EEG studies.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (202 words)
Neural activity in the β frequency range (13-30 Hz) is excessively synchronized in Parkinson's disease (PD). Previous work using invasive intracranial recordings and non-invasive scalp electroencephalography (EEG) has shown that correlations between β phase and broad-band γ (>50 Hz) amplitude [i.e., phase amplitude coupling (PAC)] are elevated in PD, perhaps a reflection of this synchrony. Recently, it has also been shown, in invasive human recordings, that non-sinusoidal features of β oscillation shape also characterize PD. Here, we show that these features of β waveform shape also distinguish PD patients on and off medication using non-invasive recordings in a dataset of 15 PD patients with resting scalp EEG. Specifically, β oscillations over sensorimotor electrodes in PD patients off medication had greater sharpness asymmetry and steepness asymmetry than on medication (sign rank, p < 0.02, corrected). We also showed that β oscillations over sensorimotor cortex most often had a canonical shape, and that using this prototypical shape as an inclusion criteria increased the effect size of our findings. Together, our findings suggest that novel ways of measuring β synchrony that incorporate waveform shape could improve detection of PD pathophysiology in non-invasive recordings. Moreover, they motivate the consideration of waveform shape in future EEG studies.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 31110135 · DOI · PMC6553574
Autologous Micrografts from Scalp Tissue: Trichoscopic and Long-Term Clinical Evaluation in Male and Female Androgenetic Alopecia [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Tissue engineering in hair regrowth aims to develop innovative and not-invasive procedures to advance the hair regrowth.
- Closing excerpt
- HF-MSCs contained in micrografts may represent a safe and viable treatment alternative against hair loss.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (133 words)
Tissue engineering in hair regrowth aims to develop innovative and not-invasive procedures to advance the hair regrowth. A placebo-controlled, randomized, evaluator-blinded, half-head group study to compare hair regrowth with micrografts containing human hair follicle mesenchymal stem cells (HF-MSCs) vs. placebo was reported. After 58 weeks, 27 patients displayed in the targeted area an increase of hair count and hair density, respectively, of 18.0 hairs per 0.65 cm2 and 23.3 hairs per cm2 compared with baseline, while the control area displayed a mean decrease of 1.1 hairs per 0.65 cm2 and 0.7 hairs per cm2 (control vs. treatment: P < 0.0001). After 26 months, 6 patients revealed dynamic hair loss and were retreated. More broad controlled examinations are required. HF-MSCs contained in micrografts may represent a safe and viable treatment alternative against hair loss.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 32071919 · DOI · PMC7007958
Scalp bacterial shift in Alopecia areata [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The role of microbial dysbiosis in scalp disease has been recently hypothesized.
- Closing excerpt
- Our results highlight, for the first time, the presence of a microbial shift on the scalp of patients suffering from AA and gives the basis for a larger and more complete study of microbial population involvement in hair disorders.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (194 words)
The role of microbial dysbiosis in scalp disease has been recently hypothesized. However, little information is available with regards to the association between microbial population on the scalp and hair diseases related to hair growth. Here we investigated bacterial communities in healthy and Alopecia areata (AA) subjects. The analysis of bacterial distribution at the genus level highlighted an increase of Propionibacterium in AA subjects alongside a general decrease of Staphylococcus. Analysis of log Relative abundance of main bacterial species inhabiting the scalp showed a significant increase of Propionibacterium acnes in AA subjects compared to control ones. AA scalp condition is also associated with a significant decrease of Staphylococcus epidermidis relative abundance. No significant changes were found for Staphylococcus aureus. Therefore, data from sequencing profiling of the bacterial population strongly support a different microbial composition of the different area surrounded hair follicle from the epidermis to hypodermis, highlighting differences between normal and AA affected the scalp. Our results highlight, for the first time, the presence of a microbial shift on the scalp of patients suffering from AA and gives the basis for a larger and more complete study of microbial population involvement in hair disorders.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 30973913 · DOI · PMC6459526
EEG-to-EEG: Scalp-to-Intracranial EEG Translation Using a Combination of Variational Autoencoder and Generative Adversarial Networks [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- A generative adversarial network (GAN) makes it possible to map a data sample from one domain to another one.
- Closing excerpt
- Our model achieves a classification accuracy of 76%, an increase of, respectively, 11%, 8%, and 3% over the previously proposed least-square regression, asymmetric autoencoder, and asymmetric-symmetric autoencoder mapping models.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (195 words)
A generative adversarial network (GAN) makes it possible to map a data sample from one domain to another one. It has extensively been employed in image-to-image and text-to image translation. We propose an EEG-to-EEG translation model to map the scalp-mounted EEG (scEEG) sensor signals to intracranial EEG (iEEG) sensor signals recorded by foramen ovale sensors inserted into the brain. The model is based on a GAN structure in which a conditional GAN (cGAN) is combined with a variational autoencoder (VAE), named as VAE-cGAN. scEEG sensors are plagued by noise and suffer from low resolution. On the other hand, iEEG sensor recordings enjoy high resolution. Here, we consider the task of mapping the scEEG sensor information to iEEG sensors to enhance the scEEG resolution. In this study, our EEG data contain epileptic interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs). The identification of IEDs is crucial in clinical practice. Here, the proposed VAE-cGAN is firstly employed to map the scEEG to iEEG. Then, the IEDs are detected from the resulting iEEG. Our model achieves a classification accuracy of 76%, an increase of, respectively, 11%, 8%, and 3% over the previously proposed least-square regression, asymmetric autoencoder, and asymmetric-symmetric autoencoder mapping models.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 39860864 · DOI · PMC11769358
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Alopecia areata: A multifactorial autoimmune condition [5]
- Research article A new era in electroencephalographic monitoring? Subscalp devices for ultra-long-term recordings [6]
- Research article Scalp reconstruction: an algorithmic approach and systematic review [7]
- Research article Regional scalp block for postcraniotomy analgesia: a systematic review and meta-analysis [8]
- Research article The role of the microbiome in scalp hair follicle biology and disease [9]
- Research article A network meta-analysis of the relative efficacy of treatments for actinic keratosis of the face or scalp in Europe [10]
References
- Jackson N, Cole SR, Voytek B, Swann NC. Characteristics of Waveform Shape in Parkinson's Disease Detected with Scalp Electroencephalography. . 2019. PMID 31110135 · DOI · PMC6553574
- Gentile P, Scioli MG, Cervelli V, Orlandi A, Garcovich S. Autologous Micrografts from Scalp Tissue: Trichoscopic and Long-Term Clinical Evaluation in Male and Female Androgenetic Alopecia. . 2020. PMID 32071919 · DOI · PMC7007958
- Pinto D, Sorbellini E, Marzani B, Rucco M, Giuliani G, Rinaldi F. Scalp bacterial shift in Alopecia areata. . 2019. PMID 30973913 · DOI · PMC6459526
- Abdi-Sargezeh B, Shirani S, Valentin A, Alarcon G, Sanei S. EEG-to-EEG: Scalp-to-Intracranial EEG Translation Using a Combination of Variational Autoencoder and Generative Adversarial Networks. . 2025. PMID 39860864 · DOI · PMC11769358
- Simakou T, Butcher JP, Reid S, Henriquez FL. Alopecia areata: A multifactorial autoimmune condition. J Autoimmun. 2019. PMID 30558963 · DOI
- Duun-Henriksen J, Baud M, Richardson MP, Cook M, Kouvas G, Heasman JM, et al.. A new era in electroencephalographic monitoring? Subscalp devices for ultra-long-term recordings. Epilepsia. 2020. PMID 32852091 · DOI
- Desai SC, Sand JP, Sharon JD, Branham G, Nussenbaum B. Scalp reconstruction: an algorithmic approach and systematic review. JAMA Facial Plast Surg. 2015. PMID 25375669 · DOI
- Guilfoyle MR, Helmy A, Duane D, Hutchinson PJA. Regional scalp block for postcraniotomy analgesia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Anesth Analg. 2013. PMID 23477962 · DOI
- Polak-Witka K, Rudnicka L, Blume-Peytavi U, Vogt A. The role of the microbiome in scalp hair follicle biology and disease. Exp Dermatol. 2020. PMID 30974503 · DOI
- Vegter S, Tolley K. A network meta-analysis of the relative efficacy of treatments for actinic keratosis of the face or scalp in Europe. PLoS One. 2014. PMID 24892649 · DOI · PMC4043670
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-31.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.