Cervical plexus
You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.
| Nerve: Cervical plexus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dermatome distribution of the trigeminal nerve (Superficial cervical plexus visible in purple, at center bottom.) | |
| Latin | plexus cervicalis |
| Gray's | subject #210 925 |
| From | C1-C4 |
| Dorlands / Elsevier | p_24/12647686 |
|
WikiDoc Resources for Cervical plexus | |
|
Articles | |
|---|---|
|
Most recent articles on Cervical plexus Most cited articles on Cervical plexus | |
|
Media | |
|
Powerpoint slides on Cervical plexus | |
|
Evidence Based Medicine | |
|
Clinical Trials | |
|
Ongoing Trials on Cervical plexus at Clinical Trials.gov Trial results on Cervical plexus Clinical Trials on Cervical plexus at Google
| |
|
Guidelines / Policies / Govt | |
|
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Cervical plexus NICE Guidance on Cervical plexus
| |
|
Books | |
|
News | |
|
Commentary | |
|
Definitions | |
|
Patient Resources / Community | |
|
Patient resources on Cervical plexus Discussion groups on Cervical plexus Patient Handouts on Cervical plexus Directions to Hospitals Treating Cervical plexus Risk calculators and risk factors for Cervical plexus
| |
|
Healthcare Provider Resources | |
|
Causes & Risk Factors for Cervical plexus | |
|
Continuing Medical Education (CME) | |
|
International | |
|
| |
|
Businness | |
|
Experimental / Informatics | |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Phone:617-525-6884
Please Take Over This Page and Apply to be Editor-In-Chief for this topic: There can be one or more than one Editor-In-Chief. You may also apply to be an Associate Editor-In-Chief of one of the subtopics below. Please mail us [2] to indicate your interest in serving either as an Editor-In-Chief of the entire topic or as an Associate Editor-In-Chief for a subtopic. Please be sure to attach your CV and or biographical sketch.
The cervical plexus is a plexus of the ventral rami of the first four cervical spinal nerves which are located from C1 to C4 cervical segment in the neck. They are located laterally to the transverse processes between prevertebral muscles from the medial side and vertebral (m.scalenus, m.levator scapulae, m.splenius cervicis) from lateral side. Here there is anastomosis with accessory nerve, hypoglossal nerve and sympathetic trunk.
It is located in the neck, deep to sternocleidomastoid. Nerves formed from the cervical plexus innervate the back of the head, 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
has two types of branches: cutaneous and muscular.
- Cutaneous (4 branches):
- Lesser occipital nerve - innervates lateral part of occipital region (C2,C3)
- Greater auricular nerve - innervates skin near concha auricle and external acoustic meatus (C2&C3)
- Transverse cervical nerve - innervates anterior region of neck (C2&C3)
- Supraclavicular nerves - innervate region of suprascapularis, shoulder, and upper thoracic region (C3,C4)
- Muscular
- ansa cervicalis (loop formed from C1-C3), etc. (geniohyoid (C1 only), thyrohyoid (C1 only), sternothyroid, sternohyoid, omohyoid)
Diagram
Additional images
 Plan of the cervical plexus. |
 The nerves of the scalp, face, and side of neck. |
 The right sympathetic chain and its connections with the thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic plexuses. |
 Side of neck, showing chief surface markings. |
External links
- Anatomy at MUN nerve/cerplex
- SUNY Figs 25:03-02 - "Diagram of the cervical plexus"
- Cervical+plexus at eMedicine Dictionary
- Mnemonic at medicalmnemonics.com 268
- Diagram at msu.edu
Nerves: spinal nerves | |
|---|---|
| Cervical (8) | C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8
anterior (Cervical plexus, Brachial plexus) - posterior (Posterior branches of cervical nerves, Suboccipital - C1, Greater occipital - C2, Third occipital - C3) |
| Thoracic (12) | T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, T7, T8, T9, T10, T11, T12
anterior (Intercostal, Intercostobrachial - T2, Thoraco-abdominal nerves - T7-T11, Subcostal - T12) - posterior (Posterior branches of thoracic nerves) |
| Lumbar (5) | L1, L2, L3, L4, L5
anterior (Lumbar plexus, Lumbosacral trunk) - posterior (Posterior branches of the lumbar nerves, Superior cluneal L1-L3) |
| Sacral (5) | S1, S2, S3, S4, S5
anterior (Sacral plexus) - posterior (Posterior branches of sacral nerves, Medial cluneal nerves) |
| Coccygeal (1) | anterior (Coccygeal plexus) - posterior (Posterior branch of coccygeal nerve) |
Nerves of head and neck: the cervical plexus (C1-C4) | |
|---|---|
| superficial | C2-C3: Lesser occipital • Greater auricular • Transverse cervical C3-C4: Supraclavicular |
| deep | C1-C3: Ansa cervicalis (superior root, inferior root) C3-C5: Phrenic |
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
