The pharyngeal branch of the

vagus nerve The vagus nerve, also known as the tenth cranial nerve, cranial nerve X, or simply CN X, is a cranial nerve that interfaces with the parasympathetic control of the heart, lungs, and digestive tract. It comprises two nerves—the left and right ...

, the principal motor nerve of the

pharynx The pharynx (plural: pharynges) is the part of the throat behind the mouth and nasal cavity, and above the oesophagus and trachea (the tubes going down to the stomach and the lungs). It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates, though its struc ...

, arises from the upper part of the

ganglion nodosum The inferior ganglion of the vagus nerve, (nodose ganglion) is a sensory ganglion of the peripheral nervous system. It is located within the jugular foramen where the vagus nerve exits the skull. It is larger than and below the Superior ganglion o ...

, and consists principally of filaments from the cranial portion of the

accessory nerve The accessory nerve, also known as the eleventh cranial nerve, cranial nerve XI, or simply CN XI, is a cranial nerve that supplies the sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscles. It is classified as the eleventh of twelve pairs of cranial nerv ...

. It passes across the internal carotid artery to the upper border of the

Constrictor pharyngis medius The middle pharyngeal constrictor is a fan-shaped muscle located in the neck. It is one of three pharyngeal constrictors. Similarly to the superior and inferior pharyngeal constrictor muscles, the middle pharyngeal constrictor is innervated by ...

, where it divides into numerous filaments, which join with branches from the

glossopharyngeal The glossopharyngeal nerve (), also known as the ninth cranial nerve, cranial nerve IX, or simply CN IX, is a cranial nerve that exits the brainstem from the sides of the upper medulla, just anterior (closer to the nose) to the vagus nerve. B ...

, sympathetic, and

external laryngeal The superior laryngeal nerve is a branch of the vagus nerve. It arises from the middle of the inferior ganglion of vagus nerve and in its course receives a branch from the superior cervical ganglion of the sympathetic nervous system. The superio ...

to form the pharyngeal plexus. From the plexus, branches are distributed to the muscles and

mucous membrane A mucous membrane or mucosa is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body of an organism and covers the surface of internal organs. It consists of one or more layers of epithelial cells overlying a layer of loose connective tissue. It i ...

of the

(except the

stylopharyngeus The stylopharyngeus is a muscle in the head that stretches between the temporal styloid process and the pharynx. Structure The stylopharyngeus is a long, slender muscle, cylindrical above, flattened below. It arises from the medial side of the ...

, which is innervated by the glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX)) and the muscles of the

soft palate The soft palate (also known as the velum, palatal velum, or muscular palate) is, in mammals, the soft tissue constituting the back of the roof of the mouth. The soft palate is part of the palate of the mouth; the other part is the hard palate. ...

, except the

Tensor veli palatini The tensor veli palatini muscle (tensor palati or tensor muscle of the velum palatinum) is a broad, thin, ribbon-like muscle in the head that tenses the soft palate. Structure The tensor veli palatini is found anterior-lateral to the levator ve ...

, which is supplied by the nerve to tensor veli palatini, a branch of the nerve to medial pterygoid (which itself is a branch of the mandibular nerve - CNV/3). A minute filament descends and joins the

hypoglossal nerve The hypoglossal nerve, also known as the twelfth cranial nerve, cranial nerve XII, or simply CN XII, is a cranial nerve that innervates all the extrinsic and intrinsic muscles of the tongue except for the palatoglossus, which is innervated by ...

as it winds around the

occipital artery The occipital artery arises from the external carotid artery opposite the facial artery. Its path is below the posterior belly of digastric to the occipital region. This artery supplies blood to the back of the scalp and sternocleidomastoid musc ...

References

External links

* * () Vagus nerve Human throat Nerves of the head and neck {{Neuroanatomy-stub

See also

References

External links