Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
cervical plexus

cervical plexus

9.6
A group of nerves under a large neck muscle that send signals to the neck, shoulder, and breathing muscles
  • noun
  • /ˈsɜrvɪkəl ˈplɛksəs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : plexo cervical
  • The cervical plexus is crucial for sending signals that control neck and shoulder movements.

Examples

  • Damage to the cervical plexus can result in loss of sensation in the areas it supplies.

  • During the surgery, the doctor carefully avoided the cervical plexus to prevent nerve damage.

  • Other locations include saphenous/adductor canal, cervical plexus, femoral, dual catheter combinations, and others.

    Academic text (2018)

Synonyms

plexus cervicalis
vscervical plexus
  • Specialized
9.9

A network of nerves under a large neck muscle that gives feeling to the neck and shoulder

is the same network but named in standard English rather than Latin

Surface Forms

cervical plexus singular
cervical plexuses plural

Morphology

cervical + plexus

The meaning is directly compositional: 'cervical' means 'related to the neck' and 'plexus' denotes an interconnected network of nerves or vessels, so together they yield 'a network of nerves in the neck.' Although clinical, the sense follows transparently from the constituents and would be deducible by a learner who knows both words.

Etymology

The term cervical plexus combines cervical meaning 'neck' and plexus meaning 'braid' or 'network'. The image is of many nerves braided together under the neck muscles, so cervical plexus now means the 'network' of nerves that give feeling and movement to the neck, shoulders, and the breathing muscle called the diaphragm.