Nerve · Neck

Cervical plexus

Plexus cervicalis

The cervical plexus is the network formed by the front branches of the top four cervical nerves, lying deep to the sternocleidomastoid. It has two jobs. Its cutaneous branches wrap around the back of sternocleidomastoid and fan out to supply the skin of the neck, the angle of the jaw, the back of the ear and the top of the shoulder. Its motor branches supply the strap muscles of the throat and — most importantly — send the phrenic nerve down to the diaphragm.