Third Occipital Nerve, Posterior View

Description

Arising from the dorsal ramus of the C3 spinal nerve, the third occipital nerve is traced posteriorly as it courses superiorly from the upper cervical region toward the occiput, running in the midline-adjacent posterior neck before distributing into the lower scalp. A posterior view also places it in context with the suboccipital region and the posterior elements of the cervical spine, where spinal nerves exit via the intervertebral foramina between adjacent vertebrae. Occipital bone contours and cranial sutures frame the superficial target territory, and the auricles sit laterally as reference points for cutaneous sensory overlap in the upper neck and scalp. The course reads as relatively straight in ascent. This relationship matters because third occipital neuralgia and C2 to C3 zygapophysial (facet) joint pain can refer to the occipital scalp, and the third occipital nerve is the principal cutaneous branch implicated in the classic C2 to C3 facet pain pattern. Fluoroscopically guided third occipital nerve blocks and radiofrequency neurotomy depend on understanding its posterior cervical trajectory near the C2 to C3 joint line. Small nerve, big symptoms. Use this illustration in anatomy and pain-medicine teaching when you need to distinguish the third occipital nerve from the greater and lesser occipital nerves, or to support figures in texts on cervicogenic headache, posterior cervical approaches, and peripheral nerve entrapment in the upper neck. It also fits well in patient education materials for targeted occipital nerve blocks and post-procedural counseling about expected scalp sensory changes. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.