Cutaneous Branch of the Spinal Accessory Nerve: Case Report With Potential Relevance to Occipital Neuralgia

We describe a case in which a cutaneous branch was found arising from the spinal accessory nerve, a nerve typically characterized as a purely motor nerve. Although reported anatomical variations of the lesser occipital and spinal accessory nerves are uncommon, rare variants have been reported. Such anatomy might result in unexpected patient presentations or rare complications following spinal accessory nerve injury.