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Glite Dictionary
nervus vagus

nervus vagus

8.2
A nerve that helps control the throat, heart, lungs, and stomach
  • noun
  • /ˈnɜrvəs ˈveɪɡəs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : nervio vago
  • The surgeon identified the nervus vagus during the procedure to avoid accidental injury.

Examples

  • Damage to the nervus vagus can affect a wide range of bodily functions.

  • Did you know that the nervus vagus affects digestion?

  • Anatomy courses often cover the nervus vagus when discussing cranial nerves.

  • The nervus vagus plays a crucial role in heart rate regulation.

  • Anatomy courses often cover the nervus vagus when discussing cranial nerves.

  • Damage to the nervus vagus can affect a wide range of bodily functions.

  • The nervus vagus plays a crucial role in heart rate regulation.

Synonyms

vagus
vsnervus vagus
  • Specialized
3 8.9

A nerve in the chest and belly that helps control the heart, lungs, and digestion

is the Latin full name used in formal anatomical contexts
vagus nerve
vsnervus vagus
  • Specialized
2 5.5

A long thin part of the body that sends signals from the brain to the heart, lungs, stomach, and intestines

is the Latin clinical name rather than the plain English term
wandering nerve
vsnervus vagus
  • Specialized
7.7

A nerve that sends signals to the heart, lungs, stomach, and throat

is the standard Latin clinical term rather than an old descriptive name
pneumogastric nerve
vsnervus vagus
  • Archaic
7.2

A nerve that connects the brain to the voice box, heart, and stomach

is the modern anatomical Latin term rather than this older technical label
pneumogastric
vsnervus vagus
  • Archaic
9.9

A main nerve that connects the brain to the heart, lungs, and stomach

is the full Latin name used in formal anatomy texts
tenth cranial nerve
vsnervus vagus
  • Specialized
7.2

A nerve that helps control heart, breathing, voice, and how the body breaks down food

is the Latin anatomical name rather than the numeric description

Surface Forms

nervus vagus singular
nervi vagus plural

Morphology

nervus + vagus

Both constituents are essentially anatomical labels: 'nervus' indicates 'nerve' and 'vagus' identifies the vagus nerve (regulating heart and digestion). A B1 learner who knows these constituent meanings can therefore derive that 'nervus vagus' refers to the vagus (tenth cranial) nerve supplying those organs; the Latin-based, cross-linguistically similar scientific vocabulary makes the composition transparent.

Etymology

Nervus vagus comes from Latin: nervus means 'nerve' and vagus means 'wandering'. The name creates a clear picture—the nerve really wanders through the body and goes to many organs like the heart, lungs and stomach, so the name helps explain what it does.