The pulmonary branches 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 ...

can be divided into two groups: anterior and posterior.

The ''Anterior Bronchial Branches'' (rami bronchiales anteriores; anterior or ventral pulmonary branches), two or three in number, and of small size, are distributed on the anterior surface of the root of the

lung The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...

. They join with filaments from the sympathetic, and form the ''anterior pulmonary plexus''.

Posterior

The ''Posterior Bronchial Branches'' (rami bronchiales posteriores; posterior or dorsal pulmonary branches), more numerous and larger than the anterior, are distributed on the posterior surface of the root of the lung; they are joined by filaments from the third and fourth (sometimes also from the first and second) thoracic ganglia of the sympathetic trunk, and form the ''posterior pulmonary plexus''. Branches from this plexus accompany the ramifications of the bronchi through the substance of the lung.

References

Peripheral nervous system {{Neuroanatomy-stub