Vagus nerve root (CN X)

Radix nervi vagi

NervousOrgansHead

View in 3D

What it is
A fan of eight to ten rootlets leaving the postolivary sulcus of the medulla below the glossopharyngeal rootlets and uniting into one trunk. Shown as a short stub on both sides; the nerve continues in the peripheral nervous system.
Function
Parasympathetic supply to the heart, lungs and gut; motor to the palate, pharynx and larynx; sensation from the viscera.
Size
Stub about 1 cm; root 2.4 mm thick
Clinical note
Its motor nucleus (nucleus ambiguus) lies in the lateral medulla, so a lateral medullary (Wallenberg) stroke causes hoarseness and swallowing difficulty.

Nearby nervous structures Abducens nerve root (CN VI), Accessory nerve root (CN XI), C1 spinal nerve, Facial nerve root (CN VII), Fourth ventricle, Glossopharyngeal nerve root (CN IX), Hypoglossal nerve root (CN XII), Medulla oblongata, Pons, Vestibulocochlear nerve root (CN VIII)