The cervical spinal nerve 5 (C5) is a

spinal nerve A spinal nerve is a mixed nerve, which carries motor, sensory, and autonomic signals between the spinal cord and the body. In the human body there are 31 pairs of spinal nerves, one on each side of the vertebral column. These are grouped into the ...

of the

cervical segment The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the spin ...

.American Medical Association
Nervous System -- Groups of Nerves It originates from the spinal column from above the

cervical vertebra 5 In tetrapods, cervical vertebrae (singular: vertebra) are the vertebrae of the neck, immediately below the skull. Truncal vertebrae (divided into thoracic and lumbar vertebrae in mammals) lie caudal (toward the tail) of cervical vertebrae. In sau ...

(C5). It contributes to the phrenic nerve,

long thoracic nerve The long thoracic nerve (external respiratory nerve of Bell; posterior thoracic nerve) innervates the serratus anterior muscle. Structure The long thoracic nerve arises from the anterior rami of the C5, C6, and C7 cervical spinal nerve. T ...

, and

dorsal scapular nerve The dorsal scapular nerve is a branch of the brachial plexus. It supplies rhomboid major muscle, rhomboid minor muscle, and levator scapulae muscle. It causes the scapula to be moved medially towards the vertebral column. Dorsal scapular nerv ...

before joining

cervical spinal nerve 6 The cervical spinal nerve 6 (C6) is a spinal nerve of the cervical segment. It originates from the spinal column from above the cervical vertebra 6 (C6). The C6 nerve root shares a common branch from C5, and has a role in innervating many muscl ...

to form the

upper trunk The upper (superior) trunk is part of the brachial plexus. It is formed by joining of the ventral rami of the fifth (C5) and sixth (C6) cervical nerves. The upper trunk divides into an anterior and posterior division. The branches of the upper tr ...

, a trunk of the

brachial plexus The brachial plexus is a network () of nerves formed by the anterior rami of the lower four cervical nerves and first thoracic nerve ( C5, C6, C7, C8, and T1). This plexus extends from the spinal cord, through the cervicoaxillary canal in th ...

, which then forms the

lateral cord The lateral cord is the part of the brachial plexus formed by the anterior divisions of the upper (C5-C6) and middle trunks (C7). Its name comes from it being lateral to the axillary artery as it passes through the axilla. The other cords of the ...

, and finally the musculocutaneous nerve.

Additional Images

File:Slide2y.JPG, Cervical spinal nerve 5

References

Spinal nerves {{neuroanatomy-stub