vagus nerves
-
pluralof vagus nerve.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
vagus nervenouneither one of the tenth pair of cranial nerves, consisting of motor fibers that innervate the muscles of the pharynx, larynx, heart, and thoracic and abdominal viscera, and of sensory fibers that conduct impulses from these structures to the brain.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The researchers focused on the genetics behind a sensory cluster known as the nodose ganglia, which are part of the vagus nerves that carry signals between the brain and visceral organs, including the heart.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 2023
The suction and swallow simultaneously stimulate two nerves, the phrenic and vagus nerves, prompting the diaphragm to contract and the epiglottis — a flap that covers the windpipe during swallowing — to close.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 24, 2021
Some patients have numbing agents injected along their phrenic or vagus nerves or get a neuromodulation device implanted that stimulates the vagus nerve.
From New York Times ● Aug. 15, 2019
In a 2011 study Cryan and his colleagues demonstrated that severing the vagus nerves of mice blocked the anxiety-reducing effects of the probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus rhamnosus.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 3, 2018
The initial action of digitalis is a stimulation of the cardiac terminals of the vagus nerves, so that the heart’s action is slowed.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 4 "Diameter" to "Dinarchus" by Various