Nasopharynx

The nasopharynx is the uppermost part of the pharynx, located posterior to the nasal cavities and superior to the soft palate.

Extent

• Superiorly: Base of the skull (body of sphenoid and basilar part of occipital bone)

• Inferiorly: Soft palate

• Anteriorly: Posterior nasal apertures (choanae)

• Posteriorly: Pharyngeal wall overlying the upper cervical vertebrae

Features of the nasopharynx

Blood supply

• Arterial supply: Ascending pharyngeal artery, ascending palatine branch of facial artery, and pharyngeal branches of maxillary artery.

• Venous drainage: Primarily to the retropharyngeal lymph nodes, which then drain into the deep cervical lymph nodes.

Innervation

• Sensory: Pharyngeal branch of the maxillary nerve (CN V2)

• Motor: Muscles of the pharynx supplied mainly by the vagus nerve (CN X) through the pharyngeal plexus (except stylopharyngeus, supplied by CN IX)

Clinical correlates

• Adenoid hypertrophy: Enlargement of the pharyngeal tonsil, which is common in children. It can cause nasal obstruction, mouth breathing, snoring, and recurrent otitis medial

• Otitis media: Infection may spread through the auditory tube from the nasopharynx to the middle ear

• Nasopharyngeal carcinoma: Frequently arises in the pharyngeal recess.