THE NERVOUS SYSTEM 



221 



face, the organs of smell, taste, hearing, and sight, and 

 certain internal organs. The cranial nerves are of three 

 kinds, sensory, motor, and mixed, i.e. combining both. 



The tenth pair, called the pneumogastric or the vagus, the 

 "wandering nerve," is perhaps the most important nerve 

 in the body: It 

 supplies the larynx, 

 the lungs, the 

 heart, the stomach, 

 and the liver. It is 

 partly motor and 

 partly sensory. 



298. The Spinal 

 Cord. The spinal 

 cord is a column of 

 soft nerve tissue, 

 extending from the 

 base of the skull to 

 the region of the 

 loins, where it 

 tapers into little 

 threads. It is a 

 continuation of the 

 medulla oblongata, 

 and its average 

 length is about 



eighteen inches. FlG- T 39- Trunk of th e Left Pneumogastric 



" -ru i Nerve. 



Ine spinal cord 



Showing its distribution by its branches and ganglia to 

 ! C 6 1 V 6 S impres- the i arynX) pharynx, heart, lungs, and other parts. 



sions from various 



parts of the body by means of its sensory nerves, and 



carries them to the brain, where they excite sensation, 



