Lesser Occipital Nerve

Information about Lesser Occipital Nerve

*Nerve:*

Side of neck, showing chief surface markings. (Lesser occip. nerve labeled at center right.)

The nerves of the scalp, face, and side of neck. (Smaller occipital visible below and to the left of the ear.)
Latin	nervus occipitalis minor
	subject #210 926
Dorlands/Elsevier	n_05/12566330

The lesser occipital nerve or small occipital nerve is a spinal nerve arising between the first and second cervical vertebrae, along with the greater occipital nerve. It innervates the scalp in the lateral area of the head behind the ear.

Path

It arises from the lateral branch of the ventral ramus of the second cervical nerve, sometimes also from the third; it curves around and ascends along the posterior border of the Sternocleidomastoideus.

Near the cranium it perforates the deep fascia, and is continued upward along the side of the head behind the auricula, supplying the skin and communicating with the greater occipital, the great auricular, and the posterior auricular branch of the facial.

The smaller occipital varies in size, and is sometimes duplicated.

It gives off an auricular branch, which supplies the skin of the upper and back part of the auricula, communicating with the mastoid branch of the great auricular.

This branch is occasionally derived from the greater occipital nerve.

Clinical significance

Disorder in this nerve causes occipital neuralgia.

Additional images

Dermatome distribution of the trigeminal nerve

External links

SUNY Figs 25:03-01

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.

• • [ e] Nerves of head and neck: the cervical plexus
superficial	lesser occipital • greater auricular • transverse cervical • supraclavicular
deep	ansa cervicalis • phrenic

Latin}}}
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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Elsevier, the world's largest publisher of medical and scientific literature, forms part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has substantial operations in the UK, USA and elsewhere.
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In vertebrates, cervical vertebrae (singular: vertebra) are those vertebrae immediately behind (caudal to) the skull.

Variation among species

In some species, some parts of the skull may be composed of vertebra-like elements, e.g.
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The greater occipital nerve is a spinal nerve arising from the dorsal primary rami of cervical spinal nerve 2, between the first and second cervical vertebrae, along with the lesser occipital nerve.
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''For other uses of the word, see Scalp (disambiguation)

The scalp is the anatomical area bordered by the face anteriorly and the neck to the sides and posteriorly.
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head of an animal is the rostral part (from anatomical position) that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth (all of which aid in various sensory functions, such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste).
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outer ear is the most external portion of the ear. The outer ear includes the pinnae (also called auricle), the ear canal, and the very most superficial layer of the ear drum (also called the tympanic membrane).
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The ventral ramus (anterior ramus, anterior branch, anterior divisions of the spinal nerves) supply the antero-lateral parts of the trunk, and the limbs; they are for the most part larger than the posterior divisions.
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In human anatomy, the sternocleidomastoid (pronounced /ˌstɚ.noˌkli.dəˈmæs.tɔɪ̯d/) muscles are anterior muscles in the neck that act to flex and rotate the head.
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Not to be confused with Fuchsia.

Fascia (făsh'ē-ə), pl. fas·ci·ae (făsh'ē-ē), adj. fascial (făsh'ē-əl) (from latin: a band) is the soft tissue component of the connective tissue system that
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Auricula can refer to:

In botany, the plant Primula auricula, a type of primrose
In anatomy, another name for the external portion of the ear, the pinna
In anatomy, a small conical pouch that projects from each atrium of the heart.

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The great auricular nerve originates from the cervical plexus, composed of branches of spinal nerves C2 and C3. It provides sensory innervation for the skin over parotid gland and mastoid process, and both surfaces of the outer ear.
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The Posterior Auricular Nerve arises close to the stylo-mastoid foramen, and runs upward in front of the mastoid process; here it is joined by a filament from the auricular branch of the vagus, and communicates with the posterior branch of the great auricular, and with the lesser
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Auricula can refer to:

In botany, the plant Primula auricula, a type of primrose
In anatomy, another name for the external portion of the ear, the pinna
In anatomy, a small conical pouch that projects from each atrium of the heart.

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Occipital neuralgia, also known as C2 neuralgia, is a medical condition characterized by chronic pain in the upper neck, back of the head and behind the ears. These areas correspond to the locations of the lesser and greater occipital nerves.
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The State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn, better known as SUNY Downstate Medical Center, is an academic medical center and is the only one of its kind in the Borough of Brooklyn in New York City.
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Public domain comprises the body of knowledge and innovation (especially creative works such as writing, art, music, and inventions) in relation to which no person or other legal entity can establish or maintain proprietary interests within a particular legal jurisdiction.
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Henry Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body (or Gray's Anatomy as it has commonly been shortened) is an English-language human anatomy textbook widely regarded as a classic work on the subject.
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A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of axons (the long, slender projection of a neuron). Neurons are sometimes called nerve cells, though this term is technically imprecise since many neurons do not form nerves, and nerves also include the glial cells that
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Head and neck anatomy focuses on the structures of the head and neck of the human body, including the brain, bones, muscles, blood vessels, nerves, glands, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, and throat.
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The cervical plexus is a plexus of the ventral rami of the first four cervical spinal nerves which are located from C1 to C4 cervical segment in the neck. They are located laterally to the transverse processes between prevertebral muscles from the medial side and vertebral (m.
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The transverse cervical nerve (superficial cervical or cutaneous cervical) arises from the second and third cervical nerves, turns around the posterior border of the Sternocleidomastoideus about its middle, and, passing obliquely forward beneath the external jugular
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The supraclavicular nerves (descending branches) arise from the third and fourth cervical nerves; they emerge beneath the posterior border of the Sternocleidomastoideus, and descend in the posterior triangle of the neck beneath the platysma and deep cervical fascia.
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The ansa cervicalis (or ansa hypoglossi in older literature) is a loop of nerves that are part of the cervical plexus.

Branches from the ansa cervicalis innervate the infrahyoid muscles except the thyrohyoid muscle: the sternohyoid muscle, the sternothyroid muscle,
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The phrenic nerve arises from the third, fourth, and fifth cervical spinal nerves (C3-C5) in humans. It arises from the fifth, sixth and seventh cervical spinal nerves (C5-7) in most domestic animals.
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