The cardiac plexus is a plexus of nerves situated at the base of the heart that innervate the heart. Download high resolution version (503x800, 66 KB)From Grays Anatomy This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... PLEXUS (Physics Learning EXperience Using Software) is a name of project that was started by Vibor Cipan, physics student form Croatia and it is based on utilization of usage of computer technology to enhance learning of physics. ... The heart and lungs, from an older edition of Grays Anatomy. ...

Structure

The cardiac plexus is divided into a superficial part, which lies in the concavity of the aortic arch, and a deep part, between the aortic arch and the trachea. The arch of the aorta, and its branches. ... Windpipe redirects here. ...

The two parts are, however, closely connected.

Superficial part

The superficial part of the cardiac plexus lies beneath the arch of the aorta, in front of the right pulmonary artery.

It is formed by the superior cardiac branch of the left sympathetic trunk and the lower superior cervical cardiac branch of the left vagus nerve. The sympathetic trunk (sympathetic chain, gangliated cord) is a bundle of nerve fibers that runs from the base of the skull to the coccyx. ... The vagus nerve (also called pneumogastric nerve or cranial nerve X) is the tenth of twelve paired cranial nerves, and is the only nerve that starts in the brainstem (within the medulla oblongata) and extends, through the jugular foramen, down below the head, to the abdomen. ...

A small ganglion, the cardiac ganglion of Wrisberg, is occasionally found connected with these nerves at their point of junction.

This ganglion, when present, is situated immediately beneath the arch of the aorta, on the right side of the ligamentum arteriosum. The ligamentum arteriosum is a small ligament between the pulmonary artery and aortic trunk. ...

The superficial part of the cardiac plexus gives branches

• (a) to the deep part of the plexus;
• (b) to the anterior coronary plexus; and
• (c) to the left anterior pulmonary plexus.

Deep part

The deep part of the cardiac plexus is situated in front of the bifurcation of the trachea, above the point of division of the pulmonary artery, and behind the aortic arch. Windpipe redirects here. ...

It is formed by the cardiac nerves derived from the cervical ganglia of the sympathetic trunk, and the cardiac branches of the vagus and recurrent laryngeal nerves. The recurrent laryngeal nerve is a branch of the vagus nerve (the tenth cranial nerve) that supplies motor function and sensation to the larynx (voice box). ...

The only cardiac nerves which do not enter into the formation of the deep part of the cardiac plexus are the superior cardiac nerve of the left sympathetic trunk, and the lower of the two superior cervical cardiac branches from the left vagus nerve, which pass to the superficial part of the plexus.

Right half

The branches from the right half of the deep part of the cardiac plexus pass, some in front of, and others behind, the right pulmonary artery; the former, the more numerous, transmit a few filaments to the anterior pulmonary plexus, and are then continued onward to form part of the anterior coronary plexus; those behind the pulmonary artery distribute a few filaments to the right atrium, and are then continued onward to form part of the posterior coronary plexus.

Left half

The left half of the deep part of the plexus is connected with the superficial part of the cardiac plexus, and gives filaments to the left atrium, and to the anterior pulmonary plexus, and is then continued to form the greater part of the posterior coronary plexus.

See also

• Sympathetic trunk
• Splanchnic nerves
• Autonomic nervous system

The sympathetic trunk (sympathetic chain, gangliated cord) is a bundle of nerve fibers that runs from the base of the skull to the coccyx. ... The splanchnic nerves are part of the autonomic nervous system. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

External links

• GPnotebook 2053832764 (superficial)
• GPnotebook 295305274 (deep)
• Norman/Georgetown thoraxlesson5

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant. GPnotebook is a British medical database for general practitioners (GPs. ... GPnotebook is a British medical database for general practitioners (GPs. ... Georgetown University is a private university in the United States, located in Georgetown, a neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is both the oldest Roman Catholic and oldest Jesuit university in the United States, having been founded on January 23, 1789 by Archbishop John Carroll. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... An illustration from the 1918 edition Henry Grays Anatomy of the Human Body, commonly known as Grays Anatomy, is an anatomy textbook widely regarded as a classic work on human anatomy. ...