From Bryn Glover
Linda Geddes’s article on the medical potential of manipulating the vagus nerve (17 August, p 12) brought to mind something I learned as a student in 1960. The auricular branch of the vagus nerve is also known as the Alderman’s nerve.
This is apparently because the nerve’s role in encouraging peristalsis – the movement of food through the digestive tract – was well-known a couple of hundred years ago. Aldermen, towards the end of lavish banquets, would stimulate the lobe of the ear with rose water to make room for yet more goodies.
Cracoe, North Yorkshire, UK
