THE VAGUS NERVE Flashcards
Describe the motor and sensory composition of the vagus nerve
80% sensory
20% motor
Which cranial nerve is the vagus nerve
Cranial nerve 10
Where does the vagus nerve exit the skull
Jugular foramen
What do fibres from cranial nerve 11 form when they are picked up by the vagus nerve
The recurrent laryngeal nerve
What is formed when the vagus joins the sympathetic trunk
The vagosymapthetic trunk
Where does the vagus join the sympathetic trunk
The cranial cervical ganglion
What trunks make up the vagosympathetic trunk
- sympathetic fibres running cranially
- parasympathetic fibres running cranially
- parasympathetic fibres running caudally
- birds from CN 11
Where does the vagus nerve enter the thorax
Thoracic inlet
What does the vagus nerve give off in the thorax
- Recurrent laryngeal nerve (CN 11)
- Cardiac branches - to cardiac plexus
- Bronchial branches- to pulmonary plexus
How many vagus nerves are there
There are 2 vagus nerves one on each side
How does the vagus divide caudal to the heart
Divides into dorsal and ventral branches
Where do the dorsal branches of the vagus join and what do they form
At the oesophagus and they form the dorsal vagal trunk
What do the joined ventral branched of the vagus form
The ventral vagal trunk
How do the branches of the recurrent laryngeal nerves travel
Right branch= hooks around right subclavian artery
Left branch = hooks around the aortic arch
