One of the cranial nerves “wanders” through the body, coursing from the brainstem into the chest and abdomen to regulate many of the visceral organs. It innervates the muscles of the throat (pharynx and larynx), and the organs of respiration (lungs), circulation (heart), digestion (stomach, liver, pancreas, duodenum, small intestine, and the ascending and transverse sections of the large intestine), and elimination (kidneys). Because this nerve is so long and has so many branches, it was named the “vagus” nerve, from the Latin word vagus, meaning “vagrant, wanderer.”
