The phrenic nerve is a nerve that originates in the neck and passes down between the lung and heart to reach the diaphragm. It is important for breathing, as it passes motor information to the diaphragm and receives sensory information from it. There are two phrenic nerves, a left and a right one.
The phrenic nerve originates mainly from the 4th cervical nerve, but also receives contributions from the 5th and 3rd cervical nerves (C3-C5) in humans.
The phrenic nerves contain motor, sensory, and sympathetic nerve fibers. These nerves provide the only motor supply to the diaphragm as well as sensation to the central tendon. In the thorax, each phrenic nerve supplies the mediastinal pleura and pericardium.
Read more about Phrenic Nerve: Path, Clinical Relevance, Additional Images
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“There must be some nerve and heroism in our love, as of a winter morning.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)