Nerves · Nervous System · Hard

Glossopharyngeal

Meaning: The 9th cranial nerve supplying the tongue, pharynx and parotid gland.

In practice: The glossopharyngeal nerve mediates the afferent limb of the gag reflex.

Word parts

  • glosso- means tongue

Many medical words are built from Greek and Latin parts like these, so learning a few helps you work out new terms.

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Which word means: The 6th cranial nerve controlling lateral eye movement.

Which word means: A nerve of the arm running alongside the radius bone.

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Related words

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