Encyclopedia entry

Vagus (CN X) Nerve

Published on 9 August 2026Version 1

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Abstract

The right and left vagus may differ significantly in size. The nerves may lie in front of both vessels (internal carotid and internal jugular) in the carotid sheath. The left vagus has been found passing anterior to the common carotid artery and the thyroid gland. Descendens hypoglossi (C1 and C2) may be carried partly or completely by the vagus nerve instead of the hypoglossal nerve. The distribution of the right and left vagus nerves around the esophageal hiatus is variable. The vagus nerve may contain accessory parathyroid tissue. See also Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve.

The right and left vagus may differ significantly in size.

The nerves may lie in front of both vessels (internal carotid and internal jugular) in the carotid sheath.

The left vagus has been found passing anterior to the common carotid artery and the thyroid gland.

Descendens hypoglossi (C1 and C2) may be carried partly or completely by the vagus nerve instead of the hypoglossal nerve.

The distribution of the right and left vagus nerves around the esophageal hiatus is variable.

The vagus nerve may contain accessory parathyroid tissue.

Riferimenti dell’opera originale

Elenco riportato come compare nella fonte, senza normalizzazione dei formati bibliografici.

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Anatomical classification

Systems:: Nervous system

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Adaptation

Adaptation of «Vagus (CN X) Nerve — Illustrated Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation: Opus I: Muscular System» by Ronald A. Bergman, Adel K. Afifi, Ryosuke Miyauchi. Source: https://www.anatomyatlases.org/AnatomicVariants/NervousSystem/Text/VagusNerve.shtml Original work distributed under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.it). Adaptation by Redazione AIVA. Changes from the original: Testo originale inglese riprodotto integralmente e riorganizzato nel formato scheda del portale (sintesi, testo, riferimenti), senza modificarne le affermazioni. La traduzione italiana non è ancora stata eseguita, e la pagina lo dichiara. Le figure non sono state copiate: sono collegate alla pagina d’origine. This publication is not approved or endorsed by the authors of the original work.

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