ˈvāgəs- noun
also va·gus
( plural vagus nerves also vagi )
Etymology: vagus nerve part translation of New Latin vagus nervus, literally, wandering nerve; vagus from New Latin, from Latin, wandering; from its length and wide distribution in the brain — more at vagary
: either of the 10th pair of cranial nerves being a mixed nerve with sensory fibers that have cell bodies in the ganglion nodosum and jugular ganglion and central connections through the lateral wall of the medulla and with motor fibers that pass from the medulla in company with those of the 9th nerve and supplying chiefly the viscera especially with autonomic fibers