Carotid body

The glomus caroticum (from Latin glomus “ball” and Greek kara “head”) is a small, nodular paraganglion , about 3 mm in diameter in humans, at the branching (bifurcation) of the common carotid artery into the internal carotid artery and external carotid artery in the neck area. It consists of so-called envelope cells and main cells , as well as blood vessels and afferent nerve fibers (pulling towards the brain) . The main cell function as chemoreceptors that the oxygen - and carbon dioxide - partial pressure and the pH of the blood measured. If the oxygen partial pressure falls, the carbon dioxide partial pressure rises or the pH value falls, the main cells release messenger substances , the most important of which is adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP activates ionotropic receptors , namely P2X receptors, on the afferent nerve fibers, and the information is transmitted to the circulatory and respiratory center in the medulla oblongata via the carotid ramus of the glossopharyngeal nerve . The respiratory rate and depth are increased reflexively.

Glomera with a similar function also exist in the wall of the aorta , namely the glomera aortica , and in other places in the body.

Its function as a chemoreceptor organ was discovered around 1930 by Jean-François Heymans and his son Corneille Heymans . In 1938 the son received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for “discovering the role of the sinus and aortic mechanisms in regulating breathing” .

With prolonged lack of oxygen, such as with emphysema , the carotid body enlarges. Occasionally, tumors ( paragangliomas ) occur, also known as glomus tumors in relation to the carotid body.

See also

Breathing - Carotid Sinus

literature

• Peter Böck: The Paraganglia. In: Handbook of Microscopic Human Anatomy Volume VI. Blood vessel and lymphatic system, internal secretory glands . Springer-Verlag , Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-540-10978-1 .
• Donald Heath, Paul Smith: Diseases of the Human Carotid Body. Springer-Verlag, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-540-19687-0 .
• W. Sorrow: Paraganglia. In: Detlev Drenckhahn : Benninghoff - Drenckhahn - Anatomie. 16th edition. Volume 2, pp. 615-620. Elsevier Urban & Fischer , Munich 2004, ISBN 3-437-42350-9 , pp. 615-620.
• Karl-Josef Moll, Michaela Moll: Anatomy. Short textbook for the subject catalog. 18th, revised edition. Elsevier, Urban & Fischer, Munich / Jena 2005, ISBN 3-437-41743-6 , pp. 352-353.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Min Zhang, Nikol A. Piskuric, Cathy Vollmer, Colin A. Nurse: P2Y2 receptor activation opens pannexin-1 channels in rat carotid body type II cells: potential role in amplifying the neurotransmitter ATP . In: The Journal of Physiology . 590, 2012, pp. 4335-4350. doi : 10.1113 / jphysiol.2012.236265 .
2. ↑ Domenico Destito, Sebastiano Bucolo, Alessandra Florio, Carmelo Quattrocchi: Management of head and neck paragangliomas: a series of 9 cases and review of the literature . In: Ear, Nose, & Throat Journal . 91, 2012, pp. 366-375. PMID 22930086 .