Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Auricular branch of the vagus
Introduction
The auricular branch of the vagus nerve is often termed the Alderman’s nerve or Arnold’s nerve. The latter name is an eponym for Friedrich Arnold.[1]
Path
Path
It arises from the jugular ganglion, and is joined soon after its origin by a filament from the petrous ganglion of the glossopharyngeal; it passes behind the internal jugular vein, and enters the mastoid canaliculus on the lateral wall of the jugular fossa.
Traversing the substance of the temporal bone, it crosses the facial canal about 4 mm. above the stylomastoid foramen, and here it gives off an ascending branch which joins the facial nerve.
The nerve reaches the surface by passing through the tympanomastoid fissure between the mastoid process and the tympanic part of the temporal bone, and divides into two branches:
- one joins the posterior auricular nerve.
- the other is distributed to the skin of the back of the auricula and to the posterior part of the external acoustic meatus.
Clinical significance
Clinical significance
This nerve may be involved by the glomus jugulare tumour.
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]