Medial Branch of Posterior Ramus of Fourth Cervical Nerve
Ramus posterior medialis nervi cervicalis quarti
Read moreQuick Facts
Origin: Posterior ramus of fourth cervical nerve.
Course: Winds medially around the articular pillar of C4 vertebra before terminating into its terminal branches in the multifidus muscle.
Branches: Posterior cutaneous branch.
Supply: Motor innervation to semispinalis capitis and colli, multifidus, and interspinales muscles. Sensory innervation to the skin of the posterior neck and to the zygapophyseal joints above and below the nerve.
Related parts of the anatomy
Origin
The medial branch of the posterior ramus of the fourth cervical nerve arises from the posterior ramus of the fourth cervical nerve. It is one of two branches, the other being the lateral branch.
Course
The medial branch of the posterior ramus of the fourth cervical nerve winds medially around the dorsal aspects of the articular pillar of the fourth cervical vertebra, while running deep to semispinalis capitis muscle before terminating into multifidus and giving terminal branches to the interspinales muscles.
Branches
The medial branch of the posterior ramus of the fourth cervical nerve gives rise to a posterior cutaneous branch.
Supplied Structures
The medial branch of the posterior ramus of the fourth cervical nerve provides motor innervation to multifidus, semispinalis colli, semispinalis capitis, and trapezius, before becoming cutaneous.
Somatic afferent neurons within the posterior cutaneous branch provide innervation to the skin overlying the trapezius and transmit general sensory information regarding pain, touch, pressure, vibration, etc.
