The cervical ganglia are paravertebral ganglia of the

sympathetic nervous system The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is one of the three divisions of the autonomic nervous system, the others being the parasympathetic nervous system and the enteric nervous system. The enteric nervous system is sometimes considered part of t ...

. Preganglionic nerves from the thoracic spinal cord enter into the cervical ganglions and synapse with its

postganglionic In the autonomic nervous system, fibers from the ganglion to the effector organ are called postganglionic fibers. Neurotransmitters The neurotransmitters of postganglionic fibers differ: * In the parasympathetic division, neurons are ''chol ...

fibers or nerves. The cervical ganglion has three paravertebral ganglia: * superior cervical ganglion (largest) - adjacent to C2 & C3; postganglionic axon projects to target: (heart, head, neck) via "hitchhiking" on the carotid arteries * middle cervical ganglion (smallest) - adjacent to C6; target: heart, neck *

inferior cervical ganglion The inferior cervical ganglion is situated between the base of the transverse process of the last cervical vertebra and the neck of the first rib, on the medial side of the costocervical artery. Its form is irregular; it is larger in size than th ...

. The inferior ganglion may be fused with the first

thoracic ganglion The thoracic ganglia are paravertebral ganglia. The thoracic portion of the sympathetic trunk typically has 12 thoracic ganglia. Emerging from the ganglia are thoracic splanchnic nerves (the cardiopulmonary, the greater, lesser, and least splanc ...

to form a single structure, the

stellate ganglion The stellate ganglion (or cervicothoracic ganglion) is a sympathetic ganglion formed by the fusion of the inferior cervical ganglion and the first thoracic (superior thoracic sympathetic) ganglion, which exists in 80% of people. Sometimes, the seco ...

. - adjacent to C7; target: heart, lower neck, arm, posterior cranial arteries Nerves emerging from cervical sympathetic ganglia contribute to the

cardiac plexus The cardiac plexus is a plexus of nerves situated at the base of the heart that innervates the heart. Structure The cardiac plexus is divided into a superficial part, which lies in the concavity of the aortic arch, and a deep part, between the ao ...

, among other things. Unlike all other ganglia, the medial branches of the cervical ganglia are 95% postganglionic axons.

Additional images

File:Slide1EBAB.JPG, Muscles, arteries and nerves of neck. Newborn dissection.

References

External links

* - "The Sympathetic Trunk and Cervical Ganglia" * * http://www.instantanatomy.net/headneck/nerves/autonomic/cervicalgangliaconnections.html * http://www.instantanatomy.net/headneck/nerves/autonomic/cervicalganglianeck.html {{Autonomic Autonomic ganglia