Encyclopedia entry

Superior Cardiac Nerve

Version 1

Abstract

The superior cardiac nerve (a branch from the superior cervical ganglion) may be absent, particularly on the right side. In such cases, it is replaced by a branch from the vagus or from the external laryngeal nerve. The nerve may not have a separate course, but may be a part of another cardiac nerve from one of the other cervical ganglia. Variations in the course of the other cervical nerves are common. A pretracheal branch arising from the communication between the superior cardiac nerve and the recurrent laryngeal nerve has been reported.

The superior cardiac nerve (a branch from the superior cervical ganglion) may be absent, particularly on the right side. In such cases, it is replaced by a branch from the vagus or from the external laryngeal nerve. The nerve may not have a separate course, but may be a part of another cardiac nerve from one of the other cervical ganglia.

Variations in the course of the other cervical nerves are common. A pretracheal branch arising from the communication between the superior cardiac nerve and the recurrent laryngeal nerve has been reported. It descends on the trachea and terminates in the pericardium and anterior pulmonary plexus.

A ganglion (so-called temporal ganglion) is sometimes found as a part of the external carotid artery plexus near the point of origin of the posterior auricular artery. It may be about 2 mm in length. It has been reported to receive nerve fibers from the stylohyoid branch of the facial nerve.

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Figura della scheda «Superior Cardiac Nerve», da Anatomy Atlases

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Figura della scheda «Superior Cardiac Nerve», da Anatomy Atlases

Anatomy Atlases. Image hosted by the site it comes from. Open the original page.

Figura della scheda «Superior Cardiac Nerve», da Anatomy Atlases

Anatomy Atlases. Image hosted by the site it comes from. Open the original page.

Figura della scheda «Superior Cardiac Nerve», da Anatomy Atlases

Anatomy Atlases. Image hosted by the site it comes from. Open the original page.

Figura della scheda «Superior Cardiac Nerve», da Anatomy Atlases

Anatomy Atlases. Image hosted by the site it comes from. Open the original page.

Figura della scheda «Superior Cardiac Nerve», da Anatomy Atlases

Anatomy Atlases. Image hosted by the site it comes from. Open the original page.

Riferimenti dell’opera originale

Elenco riportato come compare nella fonte, senza normalizzazione dei formati bibliografici.

  • Cruveilhier, J. (1851) Traité d'Anatomie Descriptive, 3rd ed., G. Doin & Cie., Paris.
  • Ellison, J.P. and T.H. Williams. (1969) Sympathetic nerve pathways to the human heart and their variations. Am. J. Anat. 124:149-162.
  • Henle, J. (1868) Handbuch der Systematischen Anatomie des Menschen. von Friedrich Vieweg und Sohn, Baunschweig.
  • Jackson, C.M., Ed. (1933) Morris' Human Anatomy, 9th ed., P. Blakiston's Son & Co., Inc., Philadelphia.
  • Jamieson, R.W., Smith, D.B. and B.J. Anson. (1952) The cervical sympathetic ganglia. An anatomical study of 100 cervicothoracic dissections. Q. Bull. Northwestern University Medical School 26:219-227.
  • Kopsch, F. (1908) Rauber's Lehrbuch der Anatomie des Menschen. Georg Thieme, Leipzig.
  • Latarjet, A. (1948) Testut's Traité d'Anatomie Humain, 9th ed., G. Doin & Cie., Paris.
  • Monteiro, H. et A. Rodrigues. (1931) Sur le variation du nerf vertebral. Assoc. Anatomistes Comptes Rendus 26:406-419.
  • Schaefer, E.A., Symington, J. and T.H. Bryce., Eds. (1915) Quain's Anatomy, 11th ed., Longmans, Green, and Co., London.

Anatomical classification

Systems:
Nervous system

Content provenance

Adaptation

Adaptation of «Superior Cardiac Nerve — Illustrated Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation: Opus I: Muscular System» by Ronald A. Bergman, Adel K. Afifi, Ryosuke Miyauchi. Source: https://www.anatomyatlases.org/AnatomicVariants/NervousSystem/Text/SuperiorCardiacNerve.shtml Original work distributed under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.it). Adaptation by Redazione AIVA. Changes from the original: Testo originale inglese riprodotto integralmente e riorganizzato nel formato scheda del portale (sintesi, testo, riferimenti), senza modificarne le affermazioni. La traduzione italiana non è ancora stata eseguita, e la pagina lo dichiara. Le figure non sono state copiate: sono collegate alla pagina d’origine. This publication is not approved or endorsed by the authors of the original work.

Licence

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