A 27-year-old woman with a goiter comes to the hospital for surgical treatment. The
surgeon must ligate the superior laryngealartery before surgically resecting the goiter,
so care must be taken to avoid injury to which of the following nerves?
(A) External laryngeal nerve
(B) Internal laryngeal nerve
© Superior laryngeal nerve
(D) Hypoglossal nerve
(E) Vagus nerve
The answer is B. The internal laryngeal nerve accompanies the superior laryngeal artery,
whereas the external laryngeal nerve accompanies the superior thyroid artery. The superior
laryngeal, hypoglossal, and vagus nerves are not closely associated with the superior
laryngeal artery.