Located between common carotid and the internal jugular vein. This nerve gives the following branches in the neck:  Meningeal nerve: Recurrent to the dura.  Auricular nerve: Anastomoses with similar branches from the glossopharyngeal and facial nerves and supplies the pinnae and external auditory meatus.There are lymph nodes within the carotid sheath, along the internal jugular vein. Another group runs along the transverse cervical artery. These, deep cervical lymph nodes are divided into superior and inferior, relative to the omohyoid muscle.