Chapter 2, Page 9  

NORMAL ANATOMY, EMBRYOLOGY, AND HISTOLOGY OF THE ESOPHAGUS INNERVATION OF THE ESOPHAGUS The nerve supply of the esophagus consists of parasympathetic (vagus) and sympathetic nerves, which innervate the epithelium and glands, the vasculature, and the muscle coats. The parasympathetic nerves originate in the neck from the cervical and thoracic paravertebral sympathetic trunks; these fibers then join the vagus nerve. The vagus itself consists of both afferent and efferent fibers that end in the dorsal vagal nucleus. The nerve fibers supplying the striated muscles of the upper esophagus and pharynx originate in the dorsal motor nucleus. At the root of the neck on the right side and opposite the aortic arch on the left side, the vagus gives rise to the right and left recurrent laryngeal nerves. These run upward in a groove between the trachea and esophagus, giving off nerve twigs to the cervical esophagus. In the thorax, the right and left vagi descend posterior to the lung roots. At this point they break into a number of branches and form a meshwork of nerves on the anterior and posterior surfaces of the esophagus. Just above the esophageal hiatus the meshwork of vagal nerves reunite into one or several vagal trunks located on the anterior and posterior surfaces of the esophagus. The intrinsic innervation of the esophagus consists of mucosal (Meissner's) and intermyenteric (Auerbach's) plexuses, made up of ganglia interconnected by a meshwork of nerve fibers. The latter consist of postganglionic sympathetic, and preganglionic and postganglionic parasympathetic fibers (22).