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CN X
Cranial nerve X is the vagus nerve.
It’s a mixed nerve with motor, sensory, and parasympathetic functions:
Motor
Muscles of the pharynx (except stylopharyngeus, CN IX)
Muscles of the larynx (voice, swallowing)
Muscles of the soft palate (except tensor veli palatini, CN Vā)
Sensory
Taste from the epiglottis and base of tongue
Sensation from the larynx, pharynx, external ear, external auditory canal, and external tympanic membrane
Visceral sensation from thoracic and abdominal organs (up to the proximal 2/3 of the transverse colon)
Parasympathetic (autonomic)
Parasympathetic fibers to the heart (slows heart rate)
Parasympathetic supply to thoracic and abdominal viscera (digestion, peristalsis, glandular secretions)
š In short: voice, swallowing, parasympathetic to thoracic/abdominal organs, and sensory from ear, pharynx, larynx, and viscera.
Would you like me to also give you the clinical signs of vagus nerve injury (what happens if CN X is damaged)?