karotisksinusafferenter
Karotisksinusafferenter, or carotid sinus afferents, are the sensory fibers that carry information from the carotid sinus to the brainstem. The carotid sinus is a small dilated area at the bifurcation of the common carotid artery that contains baroreceptors, which detect changes in arterial wall stretch associated with mean arterial pressure. The afferent fibers originate in the carotid sinus receptors and travel via the carotid sinus nerve (Hering’s nerve), a branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve (cranial nerve IX), to the glossopharyngeal sensory ganglia and onward to the nucleus tractus solitarius in the medulla.
Within the brainstem, second-order neurons in the nucleus tractus solitarius integrate baroreceptor input and influence autonomic
Clinical relevance includes carotid sinus hypersensitivity, which can cause syncope in some individuals, particularly the elderly.