Damage to the hypoglossal nucleus will lead to wasting of muscles of the tongue and deviation towards the affected side when it is stuck out. This is because of the weaker genioglossal muscle. The hypoglossal nerve may be connected (anastamosed) to the facial nerve to attempt to restore function when the facial nerve is damaged. Attempts at repair by either wholly or partially connecting nerve fibres from the hypoglossal nerve to the facial nerve may be used when there is focal facial nerve damage (for example, from trauma or cancer). The first recorded description of the hypoglossal nerve was by Herophilos (335–280 BC), although it was not named at the time. The first use of the name "hypoglossal" in Latin as "nervi hypoglossi externa" was used by Winslow in 1733. This was followed though by several different namings including "nervi indeterminati", "par lingual", "par gustatorium", "great sub-lingual" by different authors, and "gustatory nerve" and "lingual nerve" (by Winslow). It was listed in 1778 as "nerve hypoglossum magnum" by Soemmering. It was then named as the "great hypoglossal nerve" by Cuvier in 1800 as a translation of Winslow and finally named in English by Knox in 1832. The hypoglossal nerve is one of twelve cranial nerves found in amniotes including reptiles, mammals and birds. As with humans, damage to the nerve or nerve pathway will result in difficulties moving the tongue or lapping water, decreased tongue strength, and generally cause deviation away from the affected side initially, and then to the affected side as contractures develop. The evolutionary origins of the nerve have been explored through studies of the nerve in rodents and reptiles. The nerve is regarded as arising evolutionarily from nerves of the cervical spine, which has been incorporated into a separate nerve over the course of evolution. The size of the hypoglossal nerve, as measured by the size of the hypoglossal canal, has been hypothesised to be associated with the progress of evolution of primates, with reasoning that larger nerves would be associated with improvements in speech associated with evolutionary changes. This hypothesis has been refuted.