Figure 3 - Origin of cranial nerves involved in swallowing.

This illustration shows an anterior-posterior projection of cranial nerve nuclei. Left half illustrates sensory nuclei and right half shows motor nuclei. Note that the cranial nerve X is connected with the sensory nucleus (nucleus tractus solitarius, NTS) and motor nucleus to striatal muscles of the pharyngeal and larynx (nucleus ambiguous, NA). Dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV) contains preganglionic nerves that supply smooth muscle of the esophagus and the rest of the gut. (Source: Netter medical illustration with permission of Elsevier. All rights reserved.)