vagus nerve

vagus nerve

n.

Either of the tenth and longest of the cranial nerves, passing through the neck and thorax into the abdomen and supplying sensation to part of the ear, the tongue, the larynx, and the pharynx, motor impulses to the vocal cords, and motor and secretory impulses to the abdominal and thoracic viscera. Also called pneumogastric nerve.

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[New Latin (nervus) vagus, wandering (nerve), from Latin.]

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vagus nerve  (vgs)

Either of the tenth pair of cranial nerves that carries motor impulses from the brain to many major organs. The vagus nerve controls the muscles of the larynx (voice box), stimulates digestion, and regulates the heartbeat.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

vagus nerve - a mixed nerve that supplies the pharynx and larynx and lungs and heart and esophagus and stomach and most of the abdominal viscera nervus vagus, pneumogastric, pneumogastric nerve, tenth cranial nerve, vagus, wandering nerve cranial nerve - any of the 12 paired nerves that originate in the brain stem