Superior laryngeal nerve

Last revised by Yahya Baba on 5 Dec 2020

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Hacking C, Baba Y, Superior laryngeal nerve. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 10 Oct 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-71228

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-71228

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/71228?iframe=true

rID:

71228

Article created:

24 Sep 2019, Craig Hacking ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Craig Hacking had no recorded disclosures.

Last revised:

5 Dec 2020, Yahya Baba ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Yahya Baba had no recorded disclosures.

Revisions:

3 times, by 2 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Head & Neck

Sections:

Anatomy

The superior laryngeal nerve is a branch of the vagus nerve (CN X) which supplies the larynx.

origin: arises from the inferior ganglion of the vagus nerve (CN X)
course
- descends within the carotid sheath posterior and then medial to the internal carotid artery
- pierces the medial wall of the carotid sheath to continue descending along the lateral margin of the pharynx
- at the level of the greater cornu of the hyoid bone, it divides into 2 terminal branches
branches and supply
- external laryngeal nerve which supplies the cricothyroid muscle (the only intrinsic muscle of the larynx not supplied by the recurrent laryngeal nerve)
- internal laryngeal nerve which supplies mucosal sensation to the supraglottic larynx and epiglottis and also taste sensation from the valleculae