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Innervation

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The nerves supplying the oesophagus are dependent on position; they are all autonomic:

  • cervical oesophagus:
    • recurrent laryngeal nerve branches
    • cervical sympathetic trunks from the middle cervical ganglion and running with the inferior thyroid arteries
  • thoracic oesophagus:
    • vagus: both vagal trunks and oesophageal plexus
    • sympathetic trunks
    • greater splanchnic nerves
  • inferior oesophagus:
    • vagal trunks
    • oesophageal plexuses
    • thoracic sympathetic trunks
    • greater splanchnic nerve; occasionally, the lesser splanchnic nerve

These fibres communicate with plexuses within the wall of the oesophagus:

  • myenteric plexus, between the outer muscular layers of the wall
  • Meissner's plexus, submucosal

The nuclei for nerves to the oesophagus are located in:

  • nucleus ambiguus: for vagal fibres to upper skeletal muscle
  • dorsal motor nucleus: for vagal fibres to inferior smooth muscle
  • inferior salivary nucleus: vagal fibres to glands
  • inferior vagal ganglion: pain fibres

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