CRANIAL NERVES

Alyssa Garza
4-11-16

Cranial Nerves
Olfactory I
Optic II
Oculomotor III
Trochlear IV

Trigeminal V

Abducens VI
Facial VII
Auditory (vestibulocochlear) VIII
Glossopharyngeal IX

Vagus X

Spinal Accessory XI
Hypoglossal XII

Olfactory
The olfactory "nerve" is
composed of the rootlets of
olfactory hair cells in the
nasal mucosa and is not
visible on the ventral surface
of the brain. The rootlets end
in the olfactory bulb. The
olfactory tract contains nerve
fibers projecting out of the
olfactory bulb to the brain.

Optic
The optic nerves are
responsible for our sense of
sight. Each optic 'nerve'
carries visual information
from the nasal and temporal
retinas of each eye to the
optic chiasm. At the optic
chiasm, nerve fibres from
the nasal retinal fields cross
over. Thus, optic tracts carry
a mix of nerve fibres from
both eyes. These nerve
fibres end in the lateral
geniculate nucleus of the
thalamus. From there, some
of the information is sent to

Oculomotor
The Oculomotor nerve is
responsible for controlling
four of the six muscles that
move the eyeball, as well as
the upper eyelid.CN III divides
into a superior branch and an
inferior branch. The superior
branch controls the superior
rectus and levator palpebrae
superioris; the inferior branch
controls the inferior and
medial rectus and the inferior
oblique. The inferior branch
also carries parasympathetic
nerve fibres that control the
constriction of the pupil and
the accommodation of the

Trochlear
The Trochlear nerve controls the
superior oblique muscle of the
eyeball. The superior oblique
muscle is one of the six eye
muscles that move the eyeball. It
turns the eyeball downward and
in towards the nose, such as
when you look down to watch
steps you are climbing.CN IV has
a long intracranial course, thus it
is susceptible to injury from head
trauma.

Abducens
The Abducens nerve
controls the lateral
rectus muscle of the
eye. The lateral
rectus muscle
abducts the eye turns the eye
outward.

Trigeminal
The Trigeminal nerve is the main
sensory nerve of the face. It carries
sensory information such as touch,
pain, temperature, and joint
position from the face, meninges,
mouth, front 2/3 of the tongue, and
nasal sinuses to the brain. It also
supplies motor control to the
muscles used in chewing. The
Trigeminal nerve has three major
branches: the Ophthalmic branch
(V1), the Maxillary branch (V2), and
the Mandibular branch (V3).

Facial
The Facial nerve controls the
muscles used in facial
expression, as well as a small
muscle in the middle ear. Many
of the branches of CNVII pass
through the parotid gland where
numerous connections between
the nerve's branches form the
parotid plexus. The parotid gland
is not innervated by CNVII,
however. CNVII also receives
sensory information from the
external ear. The Facial nerve
receives the special sense of
taste from the front 2/3 of the
tongue via a branch of CNVII
called the Chorda tympani nerve.
Chorda tympani joins and travels
with the lingual branch of the

Vestibulocochlear
The Vestibulocochlear nerve
receives the special senses
of hearing and equilibrium
(balance) from the
structures of the inner ear.
CN VIII divides into two
nerves: the Vestibular nerve
associated with equilibrium,
and the Cochlear nerve
associated with hearing.

Glossopharyngeal
The Glossopharyngeal nerve
receives the special sense of
taste from the back of the
tongue. It also receives
general sensory information
(touch, pain, temperature,
etc.) from the back of the
tongue, soft palate, pharynx,
tonsils, middle ear,
eustachian tubes, and carotid
sinus and carotid body. The
glossopharyngeal nerve
controls one muscle - the
stylopharyngeus muscle,
which elevates the pharynx
during talking and
swallowing.CN IX provides

Vagus
The Vagus nerve is the largest
and most complex nerve of
the cranial nerves. 'Vagus'
means 'wandering' in Latin,
which is a fitting name as this
nerve wanders a very long
path from the brainstem
through the body, supplying
structures from the pharynx
to the splenic flexure of the
large intestine.

Accessory
The Accessory nerve has two
roots: the cranial root and the
spinal roots. The cranial root
of CN XI arises from the lower
part of the medulla, travels a
short distance with the spinal
root, then branches off to join
the vagus nerve. The cranial
root controls the muscles of
the soft palate and pharynx.
The spinal roots arise from
the top of the spinal cord and
supply the
sternocleidomastoid (SCM)
and trapezius muscles of the
neck. The SCM muscles helps

Hypoglossal
The Hypoglossal nerve controls the
internal muscles of the tongue, as
well as three of the four external
muscles of the tongue: the
genioglossus, styloglossus, and
hyoglossus muscles. (The
palatoglossus muscle is supplied by
the vagus nerve).CN XII also carries
motor and sensory nerve fibres
from the C1 and C2 spinal nerves to
the hyoid muscles and the dura in
the posterior cranial fossa.

One Old Ostrich Took Tap And Folklore And

Gained Very Small Hips
One- Olfactory
Old- Optic
Ostrich- Oculomotor
Took- Trochlear
Tap- Trigeminal
And- Abducens
Folklore- Facial
And- Auditory
Gained- Glossopharyngeal
Very- Vagus
Small- Spinal Accessory
Hips- Hypoglossal