ArticlePloS one2015
Human vagus nerve branching in the cervical region.
Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers.
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Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 87 citations in OpenAlex.
- Autonomic and neural responses to varying transcutaneous cervical electrical stimulation parameters.Bioelectronic medicine · 2026Article
- Human vagus nerve fascicular anatomy and its implications for targeted cardiac stimulation: a microCT segmentation and histological pilot anatomical study.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Article
- The human vagal complex: from gross anatomy to single neurons, from brainstem to abdomen.Research square · 2025Article
- Scaling of vagus nerve stimulation parameters does not achieve equivalent nerve responses across species.Bioelectronic medicine · 2025Article
- Neutral Position or Contralateral Head Rotation in Vagus Nerve Stimulation Surgery: A Study of Surgical Pathway and Nervus Vagus Position with Peroperative Ultrasonography.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Dual Vagus Nerve: a Rare Anatomical Entity.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2025Article
- Left and right vagus nerve stimulation: historical perspectives, clinical efficacy, and future directions.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025Review
- A soft, scalable and adaptable multi-contact cuff electrode for targeted peripheral nerve modulation.Bioelectronic medicine · 2024Article
- Research hotspots and frontiers of vagus nerve stimulation in stroke: a bibliometric analysis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Review
- Article
- Evaluating Diagnostic Ultrasound of the Vagus Nerve as a Surrogate Marker for Autonomic Neuropathy in Diabetic Patients.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Article
- Review
- Comparing the accuracy of ultrasound-based measurements of the cervical vagus nerve.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Fascicles split or merge every ∼560 microns within the human cervical vagus nerve.Journal of neural engineering · 2022Article
- Evaluation of the ideal length of the Seldinger needle for internal jugular vein catheter placement.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Non-Invasive Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation for the Treatment of Fibromyalgia Symptoms: A Study Protocol.Brain sciences · 2022Article
- Closed-Loop Vagus Nerve Stimulation for the Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases: State of the Art and Future Directions.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2022Review
- A Microclip Peripheral Nerve Interface (μcPNI) for Bioelectronic Interfacing with Small Nerves.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2022Article
- Mapping the functional anatomy and topography of the cardiac autonomic innervation for selective cardiac neuromodulation using MicroCT.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2022Article
- Human organ donor-derived vagus nerve biopsies allow for well-preserved ultrastructure and high-resolution mapping of myelinated and unmyelinated fibers.Scientific reports · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVagus nerve stimulation is increasingly applied to treat epilepsy, psychiatric conditions and potentially chronic heart failure. After implanting vagus nerve electrodes to the cervical vagus nerve, side effects such as voice alterations and dyspnea or missing therapeutic effects are observed at different frequencies. Cervical vagus nerve branching might partly be responsible for these effects. However, vagus nerve branching has not yet been described in the context of vagus nerve stimulation. MATERIALS AND
methodsBranching of the cervical vagus nerve was investigated macroscopically in 35 body donors (66 cervical sides) in the carotid sheath. After X-ray imaging for determining the vertebral levels of cervical vagus nerve branching, samples were removed to confirm histologically the nerve and to calculate cervical vagus nerve diameters and cross-sections.
resultsCervical vagus nerve branching was observed in 29% of all cases (26% unilaterally, 3% bilaterally) and proven histologically in all cases. Right-sided branching (22%) was more common than left-sided branching (12%) and occurred on the level of the fourth and fifth vertebra on the left and on the level of the second to fifth vertebra on the right side. Vagus nerves without branching were significantly larger than vagus nerves with branches, concerning their diameters (4.79 mm vs. 3.78 mm) and cross-sections (7.24 mm2 vs. 5.28 mm2). DISCUSSION: Cervical vagus nerve branching is considerably more frequent than described previously. The side-dependent differences of vagus nerve branching may be linked to the asymmetric effects of the vagus nerve. Cervical vagus nerve branching should be taken into account when identifying main trunk of the vagus nerve for implanting electrodes to minimize potential side effects or lacking therapeutic benefits of vagus nerve stimulation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.