Pyloric Branch of Anterior Vagal Trunk
Ramus pyloricus trunci vagalis anterioris
Read moreQuick Facts
Origin: Hepatic branches of anterior vagal trunk.
Course: Passes through the lesser omentum to the pyloric region of the stomach.
Branches: None.
Supply: Mixed nerve. Visceral sensory: conveys sensation from the pyloric canal, pyloric sphincter, and first part of the duodenum. Parasympathetic: innervates smooth muscle and secretory cells in the pyloric canal, pyloric sphincter, and first part of the duodenum.
Related parts of the anatomy
Origin
The pyloric branch is a branch of the hepatic branch, which is itself a branch of the anterior vagal trunk. It is a mixed nerve and contains visceral sensory fibers originating in the pyloric canal, pyloric sphincter, and first part of the duodenum. Parasympathetic efferent fibers originating in the posterior nucleus of the vagus nerve (dorsal motor nucleus or dorsal vagal nucleus) within the medulla oblongata (Ratcliffe, Farrar and Fox, 2011).
Course
The pyloric branch of the anterior vagal trunk descends in the lesser omentum to its target tissues at the pylorus.
Branches
There are no named branches.
Supplied Structures
The pyloric branch of the anterior vagal trunk is a mixed nerve that conveys both visceral sensory fibers and parasympathetic efferent fibers. The visceral sensory fibers convey afferent information from the pyloric canal, pyloric sphincter, and first part of the duodenum. The parasympathetic efferent fibers innervate the smooth muscle and secretory cells of the pyloric canal, pyloric sphincter, and first part of the duodenum.
References
Ratcliffe, E. M., Farrar, N. R. and Fox, E. A. (2011) 'Development of the vagal innervation of the gut: steering the wandering nerve', Neurogastroenterology and motility : the official journal of the European Gastrointestinal Motility Society, 23(10), pp. 898-911.
