To reuse good prior design is a sign of a good engineer.
But the recurrent laryngeal nerve is a sign of bad design. It's as though the wire from the front porch pushbutton to the livingroom chime went into the basement and looped around the furnace.
However, it is an example of the reuse of prior "design". The nerve is perfectly logical in fishes and embryos. See Some More of God's Greatest Mistakes for dozens of examples.