A nerve which consists of two separate parts of the eighth pair of cranial nerves connecting the inner ear with the brain and transmitting impulses concerned with hearing and balance: The acoustic nerve controls the special senses of hearing and equilibrium or balance.

The eighth cranial nerve, or vestibulocochlear nerve (relating to the vestibule and the cochlea of the ear): The auditory nerves connect the inner ear with the brain.

The auditory nerves innervate the ear and carry impulses relating to both sound stimuli and balance to the brain.

The nerves in the armpits: Some of the fibers of the axillary nerves supply the capsules that surround the shoulder joints with connective tissue.

When Sally's little brother tickled her axillary nerves, she couldn't keep herself from laughing and, after a while, it started to be painful to laugh so much!

Either of two nerves coming from the sacral plexus and supplying the gluteal muscles and adjacent parts.

A branch of the inferior alveolar (tip of the tongue) nerve that emerges from the bone of the mandible near the bottom of the jaw: The mental nerve divides into branches which are distributed to the skin of the chin and the mucous membranes of the lower lip.

A surgical graft inserted into a peripheral nerve where the donor portion of nerve comes from another individual.

1. A delicate fibril found in the cell body and processes of a neuron.
2. One of the delicate threads running in every direction through the cytoplasm of a nerve cell, extending into the axon and dendrites (receptive surfaces of a neuron).

The third cranial nerve which is responsible for the nerve supply to the muscles around the eye, including the upper eyelid muscle, which raises the eyelid; the extraocular muscle, which moves the eye inward; and the pupillary muscle, which constricts the pupil.

Paralysis of the oculomotor nerve results in a drooping eyelid (ptosis), deviation of the eyeball outward (and therefore double vision), and a dilated (wide-open) pupil.

Any of the nerves supplying the nasal mucosa: These olfactory nerves consist of delicate bundles of fibers that pass through the bipolar receptor neurons of olfactory mucous membranes.

The second cranial nerve; the sensory nerve that innervates the retina.

1. The largest nerve in the body, which begins from nerve roots in the lumbar spinal cord in the low back (sacrum) and extends through the buttock area, sending nerve endings down through the legs and knees.
2. The largest nerve in the body, arising from the sacral plexus on either side, passing from the pelvis through the greater sciatic foramen, and down the back of the thigh, where it divides into the tibial and peroneal nerves.

The posterior femoral cutaneous nerve, a cutaneous nerve supplying the skin of the buttocks, perineum (region of the abdomen surrounding the urogenital and anal openings), popliteal region (area behind the knee joint), and the back of the thigh and the leg.

A nerve formed by branches of the sacral plexus which supplies muscles in the gluteal region.

The sacral plexus is a network of motor and sensory nerves originating from the nerves of the sacral spine and innervating large areas of the lower trunk and legs; especially, via the sciatic nerves which extend through the muscles of the thigh, legs, and feet, with numerous branches.

1. A portable electronic device designed to relieve chronic pain by sending electrical impulses through electrodes covering the afflicted area on the body.
2. A method of pain control with the application of electric impulses to the nerve endings.

This is done through electrodes which are placed on the skin and attached to a stimulator with flexible wires.

The electric impulses which are generated are similar to those of the body; however, they are different enough to block the transmission of pain signals to the brain making this procedure noninvasive and nonaddictive, and with no known side effects.

The fourth cranial nerve, innervating the superior oblique muscles of the eyes.

A nerve that supplies nerve fibers to the pharynx (throat), larynx (voice box), trachea (windpipe), lungs, heart, esophagus (passage from the mouth to the stomach), and the intestinal tract; as far as the transverse part of the colon: The vagus nerve emerges from the medulla oblongata (part of the brain stem) and it is classified as a cranial nerve because it comes from that brain stem.

The vagus nerve transmits sensory information back to the brain from major organs in the body; including the ears, the tongue, the pharynx, the larynx, and much of the digestive system.

A complete interruption of the vagus nerve causes a condition in which the voice is hoarse and nasal, and the vocal cord on the affected side is immobile; resulting in difficulty in swallowing (dysphagia) and speaking (dysphonia).

The vagus nerve also stimulates the production of stomach acid and pancreatic juice; stimulates the activity of the gallbladder, and increases the rhythmic muscular contractions that move food through the digestive tract.