RT Journal Article
T1 External laryngeal nerve landmarks revisited
A1 Ortega, Consuelo
A1 Maranillo Alcaide, Eva
A1 McHanwell, Steve
A1 Sañudo Tejero, José Ramón
A1 Vázquez Osorio, María Teresa
AB Background: Because external laryngeal nerve (ELN) iatrogenic damage is frequent during neck surgery, its precise localization has been highly recommended. This study analyzes the different surgical landmarks previously proposed and the anatomy of the collateral and terminal branches of the ELN.Methods: The necks of 157 (77 men and 80 women) human adult embalmed cadavers were examined. The ELN origin, length, and relationship to different landmarks were recorded and results statistically compared with those previously reported.Results: The ELN is located deep to the ascending pharyngeal vein in 100% of patients. In most patients, it crosses the carotid axis at the thyroid artery origin level (47% of patients), passes medial to it (89% of patients), and shows an intramuscular trajectory through the inferior constrictor of the pharynx (80% of patients).Conclusion: The ELN position, in relation to classical landmarks, is highly variable. The most reliable relationships are those with the ascending pharyngeal vein or with the superior thyroid artery.
PB Wiley
SN 1043-3074
YR 2018
FD 2018
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/91817
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/91817
LA eng
NO Ortega C*, Maranillo E*, McHanwell S, Sañudo J, Vázquez-Osorio T. External laryngeal nerve landmarks revisited. Head Neck. 2018 Sep;40(9):1926-1933.
NO Consuelo Ortega and Eva Maranillo contributed equally to this study.
NO Instituto de Salud Carlos III
NO European Commission 
DS Docta Complutense
RD 21 abr 2025