Glossopharyngeal Nerve (Cranial Nerve IX): This cranial nerve arises from the ventrolateral surface of the medulla, just caudal to the facial nerve. It contains several afferent nerve fibers important to the regulation of blood pressure and respiration, taste fibers from the back of the tongue, and sensory fibers from the palate and pharynx. It also contains parasympathetic fibers for several glands, and motor fibers for the stylopharyngeus muscle.