Topography and Morphology of the Bovine Cranial Cervical Ganglion and its Branches

A detailed submacroscopic anatomical study of the cranial cervical ganglion (CCG) and its branches with its adjoining structures was carried out by examining 14 halves of seven heads of Holstein cattle under a magnifying lens to provide comprehensive descriptions with color photographs of the location, relation to neighboring structures, morphometry, and morphology of CCG and its branches. Our results were compared with previously nerves including jugular nerve; internal and external carotid nerves extremely, obtained morphological data on CCG in other ungulates to clarify the detailed comparative anatomy of CCG among them. The morphology of CCG and its branches in bovine was significantly and tangibly different from that of in other reported ungulates, especially in the direction of the ventral and dorsal poles of CCG being caudodorsal and rostroventral respectively, being larger and slightly more rostral, covered laterally by the dorsal part of the stylohyoid bone and caudal stylopharyngeus muscle, close relation of CCG to the medial retropharyngeal lymph node, wider distributions of external carotid nerve and its plexus to the adjacent arteries and visceral structures, lacking a communicating branch with the cervical spinal nerve, although all typical branches including the jugular nerve, carotid sinus branch, internal and external carotid nerves, communicating branches to vagus, glossopharyngeal, hypoglossal, cranial laryngeal, pharyngeal branch of vagus nerves, and close relationship between CCG and the longus capitis muscle, vagus nerve, and internal carotid artery were almost consistently present among the ungulates. The site of origin and the number of the major nerves including jugular nerve, internal and external carotid nerves extremely differed among the ungulates.