Cervical spinal nerve 4, also called C4, 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. It originates from the

spinal cord 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 sp ...

above the 4th cervical vertebra (C4). It contributes nerve fibers to the

phrenic nerve The phrenic nerve is a mixed motor/sensory nerve which originates from the C3-C5 spinal nerves in the neck. The nerve is important for breathing because it provides exclusive motor control of the diaphragm, the primary muscle of respiration. ...

, the

motor nerve A motor nerve is a nerve that transmits motor signals from the central nervous system (CNS) to the muscles of the body. This is different from the motor neuron, which includes a cell body and branching of dendrites, while the nerve is made up of ...

to the thoracoabdominal diaphragm. It also provides motor nerves for the

longus capitis The longus capitis muscle (Latin for ''long muscle of the head'', alternatively rectus capitis anticus major), is broad and thick above, narrow below, and arises by four tendinous slips, from the anterior tubercles of the transverse processes of th ...

longus colli The longus colli muscle (Latin for ''long muscle of the neck'') is a muscle of the human body. The longus colli is situated on the anterior surface of the vertebral column, between the atlas and the third thoracic vertebra. It is broad in the mid ...

anterior scalene 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 ...

, middle scalene, and

levator scapulae The levator scapulae is a slender skeletal muscle situated at the back and side of the neck. As the Latin name suggests, its main function is to lift the scapula. Anatomy Attachments The muscle descends diagonally from its origin to its inserti ...

muscles. C4 contributes some sensory fibers to the

supraclavicular nerves The supraclavicular nerves (descending branches) arise from the third and fourth cervical nerves. They emerge beneath the posterior border of the sternocleidomastoideus (sternocleidomastoid muscle), and descend in the posterior triangle of the neck ...

, responsible for sensation from the skin above the

clavicle The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the r ...

Additional Images

File:Slide1y.JPG, Cervical spinal nerve 4 File:Projectional radiograph of cervical foraminal stenosis, annotated.jpg,

Projectional radiograph Projectional radiography, also known as conventional radiography, is a form of radiography and medical imaging that produces two-dimensional images by x-ray radiation. The image acquisition is generally performed by radiographers, and the images ...

of a man presenting with pain by the

nape The nape is the back of the neck. In technical anatomical/medical terminology, the nape is also called the nucha (from the Medieval Latin rendering of the Arabic , "spinal marrow"). The corresponding adjective is ''nuchal'', as in the term ''nu ...

and left shoulder, showing a stenosis in the

intervertebral foramen The intervertebral foramen (also called neural foramen, and often abbreviated as IV foramen or IVF) is a foramen between two spinal vertebrae. Cervical, thoracic, and lumbar vertebrae all have intervertebral foramina. The foramina, or openi ...

of cervical spinal nerve 4, corresponding with the affected dermatome.

References

Spinal nerves {{neuroanatomy-stub