Corpus: Esophageal plexus

The oesophageal plexus is an autonomic nerve plexus that surrounds the thoracic oesophagus within the posterior mediastinum. It is formed by the union of the right and left vagus nerves, with additional postganglionic sympathetic fibres from the thoracic sympathetic ganglia.

Smaller branches from the oesophageal plexus innervate the smooth muscle of the oesophagus. As the fibres from the right and left vagus nerves intermingle, the vagus nerve reorganizes structurally, forming an anterior vagal trunk that descends in anteriorly to the oesophagus and a posterior vagal trunk that runs posteriorly.

The sympathetic fibres in the oesophageal plexus primarily originate from the 3rd to 5th thoracic ganglia. Additionally, the oesophageal plexus exchanges nerve fibres with the thoracic aortic plexus.

• Waldeyer et al, Anatomy of the human being: Textbook and Atlas in One Volume (De Gruyter Studium) (19th totaly rev. ed.), De Gruyter, 2012
• Schünke et al, Prometheus LernAtlas der Anatomie - Innere Organe, 3rd edition, Thieme, 2012

• Netter-Image: Innervation of the oesophagus