Quick Facts
Origin: First cervical nerve.
Course: Travels backwards for a short distance over the posterior arch of the atlas.
Branches: None.
Supply: Motor innervation to muscles bordering the suboccipital triangle. Sensory innervation from the meninges and atlantooccipital joint to the spinal cord.
Related parts of the anatomy
Origin
The posterior ramus of the first cervical nerve is also referred to as the suboccipital nerve. It originates from the first cervical nerve as it divides into anterior and posterior rami.
Course
The posterior ramus passes posteriorly to emerge superior to the posterior arch of atlas and enters the suboccipital triangle to innervate the muscles in that region.
Branches
There are no named branches of the suboccipital nerve.
Supplied Structures
The posterior ramus, or suboccipital nerve innervates muscles of the suboccipital triangle (rectus capitis posterior major and minor, obliquus capitis superior and inferior) and semispinalis capitis.
Small filaments from the meninges and the atlantooccipital joint join the suboccipital nerve (or the posterior ramus) which conveys sensory information to the first cervical nerve and its posterior root (Ouaknine & Nathan, 1973).
References
Ouaknine, G. & Nathan, H. (1973) Anastomotic connections between the eleventh nerve and the posterior root of the first cervical nerve in humans. J Neurosurg, 38(2), 189-97.
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Suboccipital Nerve
The suboccipital nerve is the dorsal ramus of C1 and is located between the vertebral artery and posterior arch.
