Dorsal vagal nucleus
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At the time the article was created Craig Hacking had no recorded disclosures.
View Craig Hacking's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Craig Hacking had the following disclosures:
- Philips Australia, Paid speaker at Philips Spectral CT events (ongoing)
These were assessed during peer review and were determined to not be relevant to the changes that were made.
View Craig Hacking's current disclosures- dorsal nucleus of the vagus nerve
- vagal nucleus
- dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve
- dorsal motor vagal nucleus
The dorsal vagal nucleus, also known as the vagal nucleus, dorsal nucleus of the vagus nerve or the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve, is a elongated nucleus within the medulla oblongata that provides parasympathetic motor innervation to the viscera of the thorax and abdomen. It is the largest parasympathetic nucleus in the brainstem.
Gross anatomy
The dorsal vagal nuclei are paired nuclei located in the medial aspect of the dorsal medulla either side of the midline. They are the most dorsal of the medullary nuclei, forming the vagal trigone in the floor of the fourth ventricle at its most rostral extent. Caudally the nuclei extend into the first cervical spinal segment.
It lies dorsal and lateral to the hypoglossal nucleus and dorsal and medial to the nucleus ambiguus.
Innervation
The nucleus houses cell bodies of the preganglionic parasympathetic motor fibres of the vagus nerve, innervating numerous viscera of the thorax and abdomen including the:
- myocardium
- smooth muscle of the bronchi and lungs
- oesophagus
- stomach
- liver
- pancreas
- spleen
- small intestine
- proximal colon
In addition, there are secretomotor fibres for glands of the stomach.
References
- 1. Moore KL, Agur AMR, Dalley AF. Clinically oriented anatomy. LWW. ISBN:1451119453. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
- 2. Susan Standring. Gray's Anatomy. ISBN: 9780702052309
- 3. Last's anatomy, regional and applied. Churchill Livingstone. ISBN:044304662X. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
- 4. Robert H. Whitaker, Neil R. Borley. Instant Anatomy. ISBN: 9780632054039
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