The role of the vagus nerve
August 1, 2019
The vagus nerve, or the tenth cranial verve, is the longest cranial nerve. In Latin, the word “vagus” means wandering, an appropriate way to describe the path of this nerve.
It runs from the brain stem to the transverse colon. Along the way, it innervates the larynx, esophagus, lungs, trachea, heart, and most of the digestive tract. The brain and gut feed-back and feed-forward loops are linked by the vagus nerve.
The long, convoluted pathway means the vagus is the main nerve of the…
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