Superior laryngeal nerve
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| Nerve: Superior laryngeal nerve | ||
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| Plan of upper portions of glossopharyngeal, vagus, and accessory nerves. ("Laryngeal" labeled at lower right.) | ||
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| Course and distribution of the glossopharyngeal, vagus, and accessory nerves. (Branches visible in upper right.) | ||
| Latin | n. laryngeus superior | |
| Gray's | subject #205 912 | |
The Superior Laryngeal Nerve arises from the middle of the ganglion nodosum and in its course receives a branch from the superior cervical ganglion of the sympathetic. It descends, by the side of the pharynx, behind the internal carotid artery, and divides into two branches, external and internal.
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[edit] External branch
The external branch (ramus externus), the smaller, descends on the larynx, beneath the sternothyroid muscle, to supply the cricothyroid muscle.
It gives branches to the pharyngeal plexus and the inferior pharyngeal constrictor, and communicates with the superior cardiac nerve behind the common carotid artery.
The external branch is susceptible to damage during thyroidectomy, as it lies immediately deep to the superior thyroid artery.
[edit] Internal branch
The internal branch (ramus internus) descends to the hyothyroid membrane, pierces it in company with the superior laryngeal artery, and is distributed to the mucous membrane of the larynx.
Of these branches some are distributed to the epiglottis, the base of the tongue, and the epiglottic glands; others pass backward, in the aryepiglottic fold, to supply the mucous membrane surrounding the entrance of the larynx, and that lining the cavity of the larynx as low down as the vocal folds.
A filament descends beneath the mucous membrane on the inner surface of the thyroid cartilage and joins the recurrent nerve.
Irritation of the internal laryngeal nerve results in uncontrolled coughing - usually as a result of food or water in the laryngopharynx.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- GPnotebook -2066743236 ("superior laryngeal nerve")
- GPnotebook 1328873530 ("external laryngeal nerve")
- GPnotebook -563412934 ("internal laryngeal nerve")
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 As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated.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.
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