Visceromotor

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to the motor nerves that carry signals to the internal organs and control involuntary movements of smooth muscle and glands
2. Describing nerve fibers or impulses that move the body's internal organs, such as the stomach and intestines, without conscious control
3. Referring to the efferent pathways that stimulate contraction or secretion in the viscera as part of the autonomic nervous system

Etymology: Visceromotor is a plain technical coinage, built from two pieces that were each already in use. The first part, "viscero-", comes from Latin "viscera", the plural of "viscus", meaning an internal organ, and it is the combining form used in medical and scientific terms about the internal organs. The second part, "motor", comes from Latin "motor", meaning a mover, from "movere", "to move". Joined together, the word describes nerves or impulses that cause the muscles of the internal organs, such as the stomach and intestines, to move. The word is used as an adjective, so a visceromotor nerve or response is one that drives movement in these organs. Its meaning follows directly from its parts, with no shift in sense along the way.