Question:medium
Which thickened nerve is shown here?
Which thickened nerve is shown here?
Show Hint
A superficial nerve crossing the sternocleidomastoid toward the ear and parotid is the greater auricular nerve.
Updated On: Jun 23, 2026
- Facial Nerve
- Greater auricular nerve
- Vagus Nerve
- Glossopharyngeal Nerve
Show Solution
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Read the location. A visibly enlarged nerve running upward and obliquely over the surface of the sternocleidomastoid toward the ear and parotid is the greater auricular nerve, the largest ascending cutaneous branch of the cervical plexus.
Step 2: Confirm by its root value and landmark. It is formed from C2 and C3 ventral rami, with C2 dominant, and it surfaces at Erb's point along the posterior margin of sternocleidomastoid before climbing to the auricle.
Step 3: Confirm by its territory. It carries sensation from the ear lobule and auricle, the skin over the mastoid and the parotid gland, and the deep parotid fascia, splitting into anterior and posterior terminal branches. Its superficial course makes it a common site to observe nerve thickening clinically.
Step 4: Exclude the others. The facial nerve is motor and buried within the parotid, the vagus travels deep within the carotid sheath, and the glossopharyngeal nerve lies deep near the pharynx and tongue base, so none would present as a superficial thickened nerve on the sternocleidomastoid.
\[\boxed{\text{Greater auricular nerve}}\]
Step 2: Confirm by its root value and landmark. It is formed from C2 and C3 ventral rami, with C2 dominant, and it surfaces at Erb's point along the posterior margin of sternocleidomastoid before climbing to the auricle.
Step 3: Confirm by its territory. It carries sensation from the ear lobule and auricle, the skin over the mastoid and the parotid gland, and the deep parotid fascia, splitting into anterior and posterior terminal branches. Its superficial course makes it a common site to observe nerve thickening clinically.
Step 4: Exclude the others. The facial nerve is motor and buried within the parotid, the vagus travels deep within the carotid sheath, and the glossopharyngeal nerve lies deep near the pharynx and tongue base, so none would present as a superficial thickened nerve on the sternocleidomastoid.
\[\boxed{\text{Greater auricular nerve}}\]
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