28 Glossopharyngeal Block
Placement
Anatomy
The glossopharyngeal nerve exits from the jugular foramen at the base of the skull, as illustrated in Figure 28-1, in close association with other structures of the carotid sheath, vagus nerve, and styloid process. The glossopharyngeal nerve descends in the neck, passes between the internal carotid and the external carotid arteries, and then divides into pharyngeal branches and motor branches to the stylopharyngeus muscle as well as branches innervating the area of the palatine tonsil and the posterior third of the tongue. These distal branches of the glossopharyngeal nerve are located submucosally immediately posterior to the palatine tonsil, deep to the posterior tonsillar pillar.