Greater auricular nerve

Great auricular nerve
The nerves of the scalp, face, and side of neck. (Great auricular visible below ear.)
Plan of the cervical plexus. (Great auricular labeled at top center.)
Details
From	Cervical plexus (C2-C3)
Innervates	Cutaneous innervation of the inferior part of the auricle and the parotid region of the face.
Identifiers
Latin	nervus auricularis magnus
Dorlands /Elsevier	n_05/12565226
TA	A14.2.02.018
FMA	6872
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy []

The great auricular nerve (or greater auricular nerve) originates from the cervical plexus, composed of branches of spinal nerves C2 and C3. It provides sensory innervation for the skin over parotid gland and mastoid process, and both surfaces of the outer ear.

It is the largest of the ascending branches of the cervical plexus. It arises from the second and third cervical nerves, winds around the posterior border of the sternocleidomastoideus, and, after perforating the deep fascia, ascends upon that muscle beneath the platysma to the parotid gland, where it divides into an anterior and a posterior branch.

Dermatome distribution of the trigeminal nerve, also showing the sensory distribution of the great auricular, lesser occipital, and greater occipital nerves.

Side of neck, showing chief surface markings.

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)