Abstract
The vagus nerve is the 10th of the 12 pairs of cranial nerves and is a part of the parasympathetic nervous system. It originates in the medulla oblongata and is comprised of sensory and motor neurons that innervate the peripheral nervous system. The vagus nerve exits the central nervous system at the vagal ganglia and spreads to the rest of the body. Among other functions, the vagus nerve supplies the laryngopharynx and other structures in the neck via afferent and efferent nerve branches. These branches are composed of different fibers that have their origins in different vagal nuclei in the medulla and are responsible for phonation, gastrointestinal reflexes, swallowing, air passing, and cardiac function.
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O’Flynn, L.C., Worthley, A., Simonyan, K. (2020). Neural Control of the Laryngopharynx. In: Zalvan, C.H. (eds) Laryngopharyngeal and Gastroesophageal Reflux. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48890-1_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48890-1_5
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