accessory nerve
nounAnatomy.
either one of the eleventh pair of cranial nerves, consisting of motor fibers from the spinal cord that innervate the pharyngeal, trapezius, and sternocleidomastoid muscles, and motor fibers from the brain that join the vagus to innervate the thoracic and abdominal viscera.
Origin of accessory nerve
1First recorded in 1835–45
- Also called spinal accessory nerve.
Words Nearby accessory nerve
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for accessory nerve
accessory nerve
noun
either one of the eleventh pair of cranial nerves, which supply the muscles of the head, shoulders, larynx, and pharynx and the viscera of the abdomen and thorax
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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