| nervus opticus | <anatomy, nerve> The optic nerve. The nerve carrying impulses for the sense of sight. Projection from the vertebrate retina to the midbrain. Embryologically, a CNS tract rather than a peripheral nerve. Popular experimental preparation for studies of regeneration of retino tectal projections in lower vertebrates and also for studies of glial cell lineage in CNS. Synonym: cranial nerve II. (18 Nov 1997) |
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| nervus palatinus major | <anatomy, nerve> A branch of the pterygopalatine ganglion that passes downward through the greater palatine canal to supply the mucosa and glands of the hard palate, and the anterior part of the soft palate. Synonym: nervus palatinus major. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nervus pectoralis medialis | <anatomy, nerve> A nerve that arises from the medial cord of the brachial plexus to supply the pectoral muscles; usually pierces pectoralis minor, then continues to supply mainly the sternocostal portion of pectoralis major. Synonym: nervus pectoralis medialis, medial anterior thoracic nerve. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nervus peroneus communis | <anatomy, nerve> One of the terminal divisions of the sciatic nerve, diverging from the tibial nerve at the upper end of the popliteal fossa, then coursing with the biceps tendon along the lateral portion of the popliteal space to wind around the neck of the fibula where it divides into the superficial and deep peroneal nerves. The common peroneal nerve, or its deep branch, is the most commonly injured nerve, being located in a lateral subcutaneous position at the fibular neck; a lesion causes a loss of ability to dorsiflex the foot ("foot drop"). Synonym: nervus fibularis communis, nervus peroneus communis, common fibular nerve, lateral popliteal nerve. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nervus peroneus profundus | <anatomy, nerve> One of the terminal branches of the common peroneal nerve, arising at the fibular neck and passing into the anterior compartment of the leg; it supplies the tibialis anterior, extensor hallucis longus, extensor digitorum longus, and peroneus tertius muscles in the leg, then crosses the ankle joint to supply the muscles on the dorsum of the foot (extensors hallucis and digitorum brevis) becoming cutaneous to innervate adjacent sides of the great and second toes. Synonym: nervus fibularis profundus, nervus peroneus profundus, anterior tibial nerve, deep fibular nerve. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nervus peroneus superficialis | <anatomy, nerve> A branch of the common peroneal nerve which passes downward in the lateral compartment of the leg to supply the peroneus longus and brevis muscles and terminate as the intermediate and medial dorsal cutaneous nerves supplying the skin of the dorsum of the foot and toes (except for adjacent sides of great and second toes). Synonym: nervus fibularis superficialis, nervus peroneus superficialis, musculocutaneous nerve of leg, superficial fibular nerve. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nervus petrosus major | <anatomy, nerve> The parasympathetic root of the pterygopalatine ganglion; a branch from the genu of the facial nerve exiting via the hiatus of the facial canal and running in a groove on the anterior surface of the petrous part of the temporal bone beside the foramen lacerum to join the deep petrosal nerve, thus forming the nerve of the pterygoid canal, which passes through the pterygoid canal to reach the pterygopalatine ganglion. Synonym: nervus petrosus major, greater petrosal nerve. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nervus petrosus minor | <anatomy, nerve> The parasympathetic root of the otic ganglion, derived from the tympanic plexus; it leaves the tympanic cavity through the canal for the lesser petrosal nerve and passes within the cranium to the sphenopetrosal fissure, or to the foramen ovale, or to the petrosal foramen through which it descends to reach the otic ganglion; conveys presynaptic parasympathetic fibres from the glossopharyngeal nerve concerned with secretomotor innervation of the perotid gland. Synonym: nervus petrosus minor, lesser petrosal nerve. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nervus petrosus profundus | <anatomy, nerve> The deep petrosal branch of the internal carotid plexus, which joins the greater petrosal nerve at the entrance of the pterygoid canal to provide postsynaptic fibres to nerve of the pterygoid canal. Synonym: nervus petrosus profundus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nervus phrenicus | <anatomy, nerve> The motor nerve of the diaphragm. The phrenic nerve fibres originate in the cervical spinal column (mostly c4) and travel through the cervical plexus to the diaphragm. (12 Dec 1998) |
| nervus plantaris medialis | <anatomy, nerve> One of the two terminal branches of the tibial nerve; it courses along the medial aspect of the sole to supply the abductor hallucis and flexor digitorum brevis and, by way of common and proper digital branches, to innervate the skin of the medial part of the foot and medial three and one-half toes. Synonym: nervus plantaris medialis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nervus presacralis | An alternate term for superior hypogastric plexus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nervus pterygoideus | <anatomy, nerve> One of two motor branches, lateral and medial, of the mandibular nerve, supplying the lateral and medial pterygoid muscles with fibres of the motor root of the trigeninal nerve. Synonym: nervus pterygoideus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nervus pudendus | <anatomy, nerve> Formed by fibres from the ventral primary rami of the second, third, and fourth sacral spinal nerves; it exits the pelvis via the greater sciatic foramen, passes posterior to the sacrospinous ligament, and accompanies the internal pudendal artery, into the perineum via the lesser sciatic foramen; it gives off inferior rectal nerves, then courses through the pudendal canal in the lateral wall of the ischiorectal fossa, terminating as the dorsal nerve of the penis or of the clitoris. Synonym: nervus pudendus, plexus pudendus nervosus, pudic nerve. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nervus radialis | <anatomy, nerve> A major nerve of the upper extremity. In humans the fibres of the radial nerve originate in the lower cervical and upper thoracic spinal cord (usually c5 to t1), travel via the posterior cord of the brachial plexus, and supply motor innervation to extensor muscles of the arm and cutaneous sensory fibres to extensor regions of the arm and hand. (12 Dec 1998) |