What is "hypoglossal nerve"

n. supplies intrinsic muscles of the tongue and other tongue muscles [syn: hypoglossal, nervus hypoglosus, twelfth cranial nerve]

The hypoglossal nerve is the twelfth cranial nerve, and innervates all extrinsic and intrinsic muscles of the tongue, except for the palatoglossus. The nerve arises from the hypoglossal nucleus in the brain stem as a number of small rootlets, passes through the hypoglossal canal and down through the neck, and eventually passes up again over the tongue muscles it supplies into the tongue.

The nerve is involved in controlling tongue movements required for speech and swallowing.

The name hypoglossus springs from the fact that its passage is below the tongue, hypo meaning "under", and glossus meaning "tongue", both of which are from Ancient Greek.