Anterior Ramus of Fourth Cervical Nerve (Left)
Ramus anterior nervi cervicalis quarti
Read moreQuick Facts
Origin: Fourth cervical nerve.
Course: Runs laterally in the neck from the intervertebral foramen between third and fourth cervical vertebrae and contributes to the formation of cervical plexus.
Branches: None.
Supply: Motor innervation to longus colli, anterior and middle scalene muscles. General somatic sensory innervation to the skin over the anterolateral neck. Visceral autonomic efferents to blood vessels and glands.
Related parts of the anatomy
Origin
The anterior ramus of the fourth cervical nerve originates from the fourth cervical nerve.
Course
The anterior ramus of the fourth cervical nerve originates in the neck, lateral to the intervertebral foramen between the third and fourth cervical vertebrae.
Branches
There are no named branches of the anterior ramus of the fourth cervical nerve; however, it does contribute to the cervical plexus along with anterior rami of first to third cervical nerves.
Supplied Structures
The anterior ramus of the second cervical nerve conveys motor fibers to the cervical plexus to innervate the longus colli and anterior and middle scalene muscles.
Sensory afferent neurons from the supraclavicular nerves also transmit general sensory information from the skin of the anterolateral neck via the anterior ramus.
The sympathetic innervation to blood vessels and glands in the head and neck region originates in the lateral horn of the first thoracic spinal segment and ascends in the sympathetic chain to reach the superior cervical ganglion. From here, the postganglionic sympathetic neurons enter the anterior ramus of the fourth cervical nerve via the gray communicating branches and get subsequently distributed to vessels and glands.
