Anatomy of the recurrent laryngeal nerve: a redescription.

The recurrent laryngeal nerves on each side of the neck consist of numerous branches. The demonstration of the diverse relationships of the recurrent laryngeal nerve in the thyroid area explains the variation in vocal cord and cricopharyngeal muscle paralysis produced by surgical or other trauma to this area. The anastomosis of the middle cervical ganglion with the recurrent laryngeal nerve adds a new dimension to the already confused theories on vocal cord and laryngeal function. Both the motor and sensory supply of the larynx inferior to the cords, lower pharynx, cervical oesophagus and cervical trachea are supplied by the recurrent laryngeal nerve branches and their sympathetic anastomoses. The blood vessel-nerve relationship in these neck dissection specimens is quite different from that documented in the standard literature in that there are numerous blood vessels from the inferior thyroid artery that interdigitate with the branches of the recurrent laryngeal nerve.