迷走神经（vagus nerve，VN）在人类炎症、情绪和疼痛调节中均有参与，刺激迷走神经对治疗难治性癫痫和难治性抑郁症有一定效果。耳甲区是人类体表唯一具有迷走神经传入纤维分布的区域。根据神经系统遵循“自下而上”的信号传递加工机制，刺激外周神经可调节中枢神经系统的功能。因此，刺激迷走神经耳支这一外周通路可以调节脑干、丘脑、大脑皮层等相关区域的活动，从而达到治疗目的。经皮迷走神经刺激术（transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation，tVNS）是一种基于此解剖特点由迷走神经刺激术发展而来的安全、低成本、非侵入性的物理疗法。此综述主要阐述了经皮迷走神经刺激术对器官功能的调节作用及其在疾病治疗中的应用。

The vagus nerve is involved in the regulation of human inflammation, mood and pain. Stimulation of the vagus nerve has assured therapeutic effects on intracepilepsy and refractory depression. On the surface of the human body, the ear is the only area in which vagal afferent fibers distribute. According to the "bottom-up" mechanism of the signal processing, the central nervous system can be modulatedstimulating the peripheral nerve. Therefore, stimulation of the vagus nerve can regulate the activities of brain stem, thalamus, cerebral cortex and other related areas to produce therapeutic effects. Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation is a safe, low-cost, non-invasive physical therapy modified vagus nerve stimulation. This review focuses on the regulation of organ functiontranscutaneous vagus nerve stimulation and its application to diseases treatment.