The nodose ganglion (ganglion of the trunk; inferior ganglion of vagus nerve) is cylindrical in form, of a reddish color, and 2.5 cm (0.98 in) in length. It is located in the height of the transverse process of the first cervical vertebra (atlas).
Passing through it is the cranial portion of the accessory nerve, which blends with the vagus below the ganglion.
As opposed to the jugular ganglion of the vagus nerve, the inferior or nodose ganglion is larger.
It is chiefly visceral afferent in function concerning sensation of heart, larynx, lungs and alimentary tract from the pharynx to the transverse colon. These visceral afferents synapse centrally in the nucleus solitarius.
Both ganglia are traversed by parasympathetic, and perhaps some sympathetic fibres.
Preganglionic motor fibres (ganglionic branches) from the dorsal vagal nucleus and the special visceral efferents from the nucleus ambiguus, which descend to the inferior vagal ganglion form a band skirting the ganglion.
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