Neurovasculature of the Pharynx

00:01 Let us now briefly look at the neural vasculature of the pharynx and then conclude our lecture with the discussion of Waldeyer's Ring.

00:10 Let's first briefly discuss the sensory innervation of the pharyngeal mucosa.

00:16 The mucosa, the nasal pharynx will receive its sensory innervation from the maxillary division of the trigeminal nerve.

00:25 The oral pharyngeal mucosa will receive its sensory innervation from the glossopharyngeal nerve.

00:33 And the mucosa, the laryngopharynx will receive its sensory innervation from the branches of the vagus, chiefly the internal branch of the superior laryngeal nerve, and the recurrent laryngeal nerve.

00:47 And lastly, the autonomic and motor innervation.

00:51 The pharynx comes from the pharyngeal plexus, which is formed by the union of the vagus nerve, glossopharyngeal nerve, and the cervical sympathetic ganglia.

01:03 And again, the only exception is the stylopharyngeus muscle, which receives its motor innervation from a small motor branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve.

01:16 The blood supply of the pharynx is quite extensive.

01:22 The majority of the blood supply is derived from the branches of the external carotid artery.

01:28 These branches include: the ascending pharyngeal arteries, assending palatine, and tonsillar branches of the facial arteries, the branches of the maxillary artery and the dorsal branches of the lingual artery, as well as superior and inferior laryngeal arteries, which are derived from the subclavian artery.

01:55 The venous drainage of the pharynx is accomplished by a large venous plexus located on the external posterior aspect of the pharyngeal wall.

02:05 The superior part of the venous plexus drains into the pterygoid plexus of veins, which ultimately communicate with the cavernous sinus.

02:16 The middle part of the pharyngeal venous plexus drains into the internal jugular vein.

02:23 While the inferior part of the pharyngeal venous plexus drains directly into the brachiocephalic vein.

02:30 With that we conclude our brief overview of the pharyngeal neurovasculature.

02:35 And now comes our last topic which Waldeyer's Ring.