Great auricular nerve

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Nerve: Great auricular nerve
The nerves of the scalp, face, and side of neck. (Great auricular visible below ear.)
Plan of the cervical plexus. (Great auricular labeled at top center.)
Latin	nervus auricularis magnus
Gray's	subject #210 926
From	Cervical plexus (C2-C3)
Dorlands / Elsevier	n_05/12565226

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The great auricular nerve originates from the cervical plexus, composed of branches of spinal nerves C2 and C3. It provides sensory innervation for the skin over parotid gland and mastoid process, and both surfaces of the outer ear.

Terminology

Although this nerve is frequently referred to as the "greater" auricular nerve, this is not the proper nomenclature since there is no "lesser" auricular nerve. Great refers to the distinction between it and the posterior auricular nerve, which is the less influential of the two.

Path

It the largest of the ascending branches. It arises from the second and third cervical nerves, winds around the posterior border of the Sternocleidomastoideus, and, after perforating the deep fascia, ascends upon that muscle beneath the Platysma to the parotid gland, where it divides into an anterior and a posterior branch.

Branches

• The anterior branch (ramus anterior; facial branch) is distributed to the skin of the face over the parotid gland, and communicates in the substance of the gland with the facial nerve.

• The posterior branch (ramus posterior; mastoid branch) supplies the skin over the mastoid process and on the back of the auricula, except at its upper part; a filament pierces the auricula to reach its lateral surface, where it is distributed to the lobule and lower part of the concha. The posterior branch communicates with the smaller occipital, the auricular branch of the vagus, and the posterior auricular branch of the facial.

Additional images

Dermatome distribution of the trigeminal nerve

Side of neck, showing chief surface markings.

External links

• Diagram at aapmr.org
• SUNY Figs 25:03-03 - "Diagram of the cervical plexus."

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.}

v • d • e 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

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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 .

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