Cervical plexus

Plexus cervicalis

NervousNervesWhole bodyLeft and right

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What it is

A series of loops between the ventral rami of C1-C4, lying deep to the sternocleidomastoid. Its skin branches fan out from the middle of the muscle's back border (Erb's point): lesser occipital, great auricular, transverse cervical and supraclavicular nerves; a loop on the carotid sheath (ansa cervicalis) supplies the strap muscles.

Function

Sensation from the side of the neck, the ear lobe and the skin behind the ear, and the skin over the clavicle and upper chest; motor to the infrahyoid muscles and, through the phrenic nerve, the diaphragm.

Size

Loops within ~4 cm of the spine; skin branches 1-2 mm thick, 6-10 cm long

Clinical note

A superficial cervical plexus block at the mid-point of the sternocleidomastoid numbs the neck for carotid surgery. The great auricular nerve is the one most often injured in facelift surgery, leaving a numb ear lobe.