The stellate ganglion is a sympathetic ganglion formed by the fusion of the inferior cervical ganglion

Inferior cervical ganglion

The inferior cervical ganglion is situated between the base of the transverse process of the last cervical vertebra and the neck of the first rib, on the medial side of the costocervical artery....

 and the first thoracic ganglion

Ganglion

In anatomy, a ganglion is a biological tissue mass, most commonly a mass of nerve cell bodies. Cells found in a ganglion are called ganglion cells, though this term is also sometimes used to refer specifically to retinal ganglion cells....

. Stellate ganglion is located at the level of C7 (7th cervical vertebrae), anterior to the transverse process of C7, anterior to the neck of the first rib

First rib

The first rib is the most curved and usually the shortest of all the ribs; it is broad and flat, its surfaces looking upward and downward, and its borders inward and outward....

, and just below the subclavian artery

Subclavian artery

In human anatomy, the subclavian arteries are two major arteries of the upper thorax , below the clavicle . They receive blood from the top of the aorta...

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Clinical significance

The clinical significance of these ganglia is that they may be cut in order to decrease the symptoms exhibited by Raynaud's phenomenon

Raynaud's phenomenon

In medicine, Raynaud's phenomenon is a vasospastic disorder causing discoloration of the fingers, toes, and occasionally other areas. This condition can also cause nails to become brittle with longitudinal ridges. Named for French physician Maurice Raynaud , the phenomenon is believed to be the...

 and hyperhydrosis (extreme sweating) of the hands. Injection of local anesthetics near the stellate ganglion can sometimes mitigate the symptoms of sympathetically

Sympathetic nervous system

The sympathetic nervous system is one of the three parts of the autonomic nervous system, along with the enteric and parasympathetic systems. Its general action is to mobilize the body's nervous system fight-or-flight response...

 mediated pain such as complex regional pain syndrome

Complex regional pain syndrome

Complex regional pain syndrome is a chronic progressive disease characterized by severe pain, swelling and changes in the skin. It often affects an arm or a leg and may spread to another part of the body.Though treatment is often unsatisfactory, early multimodal therapy can cause dramatic...

 type I (reflex sympathetic dystrophy).

Stellate-ganglion block also shows great potential as a means of reducing the number of hot flashes and night awakenings suffered by breast cancer survivors and women experiencing extreme menopause.

Complications associated with a stellate ganglion block include Horner's syndrome

Horner's syndrome

Horner's syndrome is the combination of drooping of the eyelid and constriction of the pupil , sometimes accompanied by decreased sweating of the face on the same side; redness of the conjunctiva of the eye is often also present...

, intra-arterial or intravenous injection, difficulty swallowing

Dysphagia

Dysphagia is the medical term for the symptom of difficulty in swallowing. Although classified under "symptoms and signs" in ICD-10, the term is sometimes used as a condition in its own right. Sufferers are sometimes unaware of their dysphagia....

, vocal cord paralysis, epidural

Epidural

The term epidural is often short for epidural analgesia, a form of regional analgesia involving injection of drugs through a catheter placed into the epidural space...

 spread of local anaesthetic and pneumothorax

Pneumothorax

Pneumothorax is a collection of air or gas in the pleural cavity of the chest between the lung and the chest wall. It may occur spontaneously in people without chronic lung conditions as well as in those with lung disease , and many pneumothoraces occur after physical trauma to the chest, blast...

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Blunt needling of the stellate ganglion with an acupuncture

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a type of alternative medicine that treats patients by insertion and manipulation of solid, generally thin needles in the body....

 needle is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...

 to decrease sympathetically mediated symptoms as well.

Block of the stellate ganglion has also been explored in coronary artery bypass surgery

Coronary artery bypass surgery

Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...

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Anatomy

The stellate ganglion lies in front of the neck of the first rib. The vertebral artery

Vertebral artery

The vertebral arteries are major arteries of the neck. They branch from the subclavian arteries and merge to form the single midline basilar artery in a complex called the vertebrobasilar system, which supplies blood to the posterior part of the circle of Willis and thus significant portions of the...

 lies anterior to the ganglion as it has just originated from the subclavian artery

Subclavian artery

In human anatomy, the subclavian arteries are two major arteries of the upper thorax , below the clavicle . They receive blood from the top of the aorta...

. After passing over the ganglion, it enters the vertebral foramen

Vertebral foramen

In a typical vertebra, the vertebral foramen is the foramen formed by the anterior segment , and the posterior part, the vertebral arch....

and lies posterior to the anterior tubercle of C6.