The cervical plexus is a

plexus In neuroanatomy, a plexus (from the Latin term for "braid") is a branching network of vessels or nerves. The vessels may be blood vessels (veins, capillaries) or lymphatic vessels. The nerves are typically axons outside the central nervous system ...

of the anterior rami of the first four cervical spinal nerves which arise from C1 to C4 cervical segment in the

neck The neck is the part of the body on many vertebrates that connects the head with the torso. The neck supports the weight of the head and protects the nerves that carry sensory and motor information from the brain down to the rest of the body. In ...

. They are located laterally to the transverse processes between prevertebral muscles from the medial side and vertebral (m.

scalenus ''Scalenus'' is an Old World genus of round-necked longhorn beetles of the subfamily Cerambycinae. Species '' Scalenus auricomus'' (Ritsema, 1890) '' Scalenus borneensis'' Bentanachs & Drouin, 2014 ''Scalenus cingalensis'' (White, 1855) ''Sc ...

, m. levator scapulae, m. splenius cervicis) from lateral side. There is anastomosis with

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 ...

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 ...

and sympathetic trunk. It is located in the

, deep to the

sternocleidomastoid The sternocleidomastoid muscle is one of the largest and most superficial cervical muscles. The primary actions of the muscle are rotation of the head to the opposite side and flexion of the neck. The sternocleidomastoid is innervated by the access ...

muscle. Nerves formed from the cervical plexus innervate the back of the

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals ...

, as well as some neck muscles. The branches of the cervical plexus emerge from the posterior triangle at the nerve point, a point which lies midway on the posterior border of the sternocleidomastoid.

Branches

The cervical plexus has two types of branches: cutaneous and muscular. *Cutaneous (4 branches): ** Lesser occipital nerve - innervates the skin and the scalp posterosuperior to the auricle (C2) ** Great auricular nerve - innervates skin near concha auricle ( outer ear) and external acoustic meatus (

ear canal The ear canal (external acoustic meatus, external auditory meatus, EAM) is a pathway running from the outer ear to the middle ear. The adult human ear canal extends from the pinna (anatomy), pinna to the eardrum and is about in length and in di ...

) (C2&C3) ** Transverse cervical nerve - innervates anterior region of neck (C2 and C3) ** Supraclavicular nerves - innervate the skin above and below the clavicle (C3 and C4) Clinically Oriented Anatomy by Moore and Dally's *Muscular **

Ansa cervicalis The ansa cervicalis (or ansa hypoglossi in older literature) is a loop of nerves that are part of the cervical plexus. It lies superficial to the internal jugular vein in the carotid triangle. Its name means "handle of the neck" in Latin. Bra ...

(This is a loop formed from C1-C3 which supplies the four infrahyoid aka strap muscles), etc. ( thyrohyoid (C1 only),

sternothyroid The sternothyroid muscle, or sternothyroideus, is an infrahyoid muscle in the neck. It acts to depress the hyoid bone. It is below the sternohyoid muscle. It is shorter and wider than the sternohyoid. Structure The sternothyroid arises from the ...

, sternohyoid, omohyoid) ** Phrenic (C3-C5 (primarily C4))-innervates

thoracic diaphragm The thoracic diaphragm, or simply the diaphragm ( grc, διάφραγμα, diáphragma, partition), is a sheet of internal skeletal muscle in humans and other mammals that extends across the bottom of the thoracic cavity. The diaphragm is the m ...

and the

pericardium The pericardium, also called pericardial sac, is a double-walled sac containing the heart and the roots of the great vessels. It has two layers, an outer layer made of strong connective tissue (fibrous pericardium), and an inner layer made ...

**Segmental branches (C1-C4)- innervates anterior and middle

scalenes The scalene muscles are a group of three pairs of muscles in the lateral neck, namely the anterior scalene, middle scalene, and posterior scalene. They are innervated by the third to the eight cervical spinal nerves (C3-C8). The anterior and m ...

** Levator scapulae muscle (C3, C4), also by dorsal scapular nerve (C5) from Brachial plexus

Diagram

Additional images

Image:Gray804.png, Plan of the cervical plexus. Image:Gray805.png, The nerves of the scalp, face, and side of neck. Image:Gray838.png, The right sympathetic chain and its connections with the thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic plexuses. Image:Gray1210.png, Side of neck, showing chief surface markings.

References

External links

* - "Diagram of the cervical plexus" *
Diagram at msu.edu
{{Authority control Nerve plexus Spinal nerves Nerves of the head and neck

Branches

Diagram

Additional images

See also

References

External links