glossopharyngeal nerve

American  

noun

Anatomy.

1. either of the ninth pair of cranial nerves, consisting of motor fibers that innervate the muscles of the pharynx, the soft palate, and the parotid glands, and of sensory fibers that conduct impulses to the brain from the pharynx, the middle ear, and the posterior third of the tongue.

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glossopharyngeal nerve British  

/ ˌɡlɒsəʊˌfærɪnˈdʒiːəl /

noun

1. the ninth cranial nerve, which supplies the muscles of the pharynx, the tongue, the middle ear, and the parotid gland

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Etymology

Origin of glossopharyngeal nerve

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

Eagle syndrome occurs when a piece of bone called a styloid process, which extends from the skull into the ear, presses on or irritates adjacent structures, including the glossopharyngeal nerve.

From Washington Post • Feb. 23, 2015

The glossopharyngeal nerve connects to taste buds in the posterior two thirds of the tongue.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

The baroreceptors from the carotid arteries have axons in the glossopharyngeal nerve, and those from the aorta have axons in the vagus nerve.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

The glossopharyngeal nerve is responsible for controlling muscles in the oral cavity and upper throat, as well as part of the sense of taste and the production of saliva.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

But in these palaces of clashing splendour, the stunned brain fails to receive impressions from the glossopharyngeal nerve, and one eats unthinkingly like a dog.

From The Morals of Marcus Ordeyne : a Novel by Locke, William John