vagus nerve
Use Vagus nerve in a sentencevagus nerve
1830–40
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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vagus or vagus nerve (ˈveɪɡəs) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n , pl -gi | |
| the tenth cranial nerve, which supplies the heart, lungs, and viscera | |
| [C19: from Latin vagus wandering] | |
| vagus nerve or vagus nerve (ˈveɪɡəs, -dʒaɪ) | |
| —n | |
| [C19: from Latin vagus wandering] | |
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
vagus nerve n.
A mixed nerve that arises from numerous small roots from the side of the medulla oblongata and supplies the pharynx, larynx, lungs, heart, esophagus, stomach, and most of the abdominal viscera. Also called pneumogastric nerve, tenth cranial nerve.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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vagus nerve  (vā'gəs) Pronunciation Key
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. |
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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vagus nerve
longest and most complex of the cranial nerves. The vagus nerve runs from the brain through the face and thorax to the abdomen. It is a mixed nerve that contains parasympathetic fibres. The vagus nerve has two sensory ganglia (masses of nerve tissue that transmit sensory impulses): the superior and the inferior ganglia. The branches of the superior ganglion innervate the skin in the concha of the ear. The inferior ganglion gives off two branches: the pharyngeal nerve and the superior laryngeal nerve. The recurrent laryngeal nerve branches from the vagus in the lower neck and upper thorax to innervate the muscles of the larynx (voice box). The vagus also gives off cardiac, esophageal, and pulmonary branches. In the abdomen the vagus innervates the greater part of the digestive tract and other abdominal viscera.
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