Cervical ganglia

The cervical ganglia are paravertebral ganglia of the sympathetic nervous system. Preganglionic nerve fibers from the thoracic spinal cord enter into the cervical ganglia and synapse with their postganglionic nerve fibers. The cervical ganglion has three paravertebral ganglia:

superior cervical ganglion (largest) - adjacent to C2 & C3; postganglionic axon projects to target: (heart, head, neck) via “hitchhiking” on the carotid arteries

middle cervical ganglion (smallest) - adjacent to C6; target: heart, neck

inferior cervical ganglion. The inferior ganglion may be fused with the first thoracic ganglion to form a single structure, the stellate ganglion. - adjacent to C7; target: heart, lower neck, arm, posterior cranial arteries Nerves emerging from the cervical sympathetic ganglia contribute to the cardiac plexus, among other things. Unlike all other ganglia, the medial branches of the cervical ganglia are 95% postganglionic axons.