The Posterior Auricular Nerve
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Dr. P here with the 7th nerve.
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Just want to say a few words about the
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distal branches of the 7th nerve.
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You may have gotten the impression the posterior auricular
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nerve comes off over here.
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It actually comes off right as the nerve
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leaves the stylomastoid foramen.
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It's not a nerve that you can see,
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but you can follow the facial nerve down.
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And you should as it exits the brain.
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There you have it, right there.
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Still have it,
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still have it,
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still follow it.
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And now, it is starting to head towards the parotid gland.
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So, I just want to say a word about
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the posterior auricular nerve again.
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It controls movements of some scalp muscles around the
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ear as a branch to the posterior belly of digastric,
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as well as the stylohyoid muscle.
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The reason I mention it is nobody ever
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thinks about what that nerve does.
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And then as it moves into the parotid gland,
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you remember the mnemonic,
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Two Zebras Bit My Cow.
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And this formulates
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the mnemonic for the branches in the parotid plexus,
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temporal, zygomatic, buccal, marginal mandibular,
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and cervical branch.
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So now, I'd like to move on
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and cover in the next vignette
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the petrosal nerve, which is an important one.
Stephen J Pomeranz, MD
Chief Medical Officer, ProScan Imaging. Founder, MRI Online
ProScan Imaging
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