Cranial nervesW
Cranial nerves

Cranial nerves are the nerves that emerge directly from the brain, of which there are conventionally considered twelve pairs. Cranial nerves relay information between the brain and parts of the body, primarily to and from regions of the head and neck, including the special senses of vision, taste, smell, and hearing.

Abducens nerveW
Abducens nerve

The abducens nerve is the sixth cranial nerve (CNVI), in humans, that controls the movement of the lateral rectus muscle, responsible for outward gaze. It is a somatic efferent nerve.

Accessory nerveW
Accessory nerve

The accessory nerve is a cranial nerve that supplies the sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscles. It is considered as the eleventh of twelve pairs of cranial nerves, or simply cranial nerve XI, as part of it was formerly believed to originate in the brain. The sternocleidomastoid muscle tilts and rotates the head, while the trapezius muscle, connecting to the scapula, acts to shrug the shoulder.

Terminal nerveW
Terminal nerve

The terminal nerve, also known as cranial nerve 0, or simply as CN 0, was discovered by German scientist Gustav Fritsch in 1878 in the brains of sharks. It was first found in humans in 1913. A 1990 study has indicated that the terminal nerve is a common finding in the adult human brain. The nerve has been called unofficially by other names, including cranial nerve XIII, zero nerve, nerve N, and NT.

Facial nerveW
Facial nerve

The facial nerve is the seventh cranial nerve, or simply CN VII. It emerges from the pons of the brainstem, controls the muscles of facial expression, and functions in the conveyance of taste sensations from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue. The nerves typically travels from the pons through the facial canal in the temporal bone and exits the skull at the stylomastoid foramen. It arises from the brainstem from an area posterior to the cranial nerve VI and anterior to cranial nerve VIII.

Glossopharyngeal nerveW
Glossopharyngeal nerve

The glossopharyngeal nerve, known as the ninth cranial nerve, is a mixed nerve that carries afferent sensory and efferent motor information. It exits the brainstem out from the sides of the upper medulla, just anterior to the vagus nerve. The motor division of the glossopharyngeal nerve is derived from the basal plate of the embryonic medulla oblongata, while the sensory division originates from the cranial neural crest.

Hypoglossal nerveW
Hypoglossal nerve

The hypoglossal nerve is the twelfth cranial nerve, and innervates all the extrinsic and intrinsic muscles of the tongue, except for the palatoglossus which is innervated by the vagus nerve. It is a nerve with a solely motor function. The nerve arises from the hypoglossal nucleus in the medulla as a number of small rootlets, passes through the hypoglossal canal and down through the neck, and eventually passes up again over the tongue muscles it supplies into the tongue.

MetencephalonW
Metencephalon

The metencephalon is the embryonic part of the hindbrain that differentiates into the pons and the cerebellum. It contains a portion of the fourth ventricle and the trigeminal nerve, abducens nerve, facial nerve, and a portion of the vestibulocochlear nerve.

Oculomotor nerveW
Oculomotor nerve

The oculomotor nerve is the third cranial nerve. It enters the orbit via the superior orbital fissure and innervates extrinsic eye muscles that enable most movements of the eye and that raise the eyelid. The nerve also contains fibers that innervate the intrinsic eye muscles that enable pupillary constriction and accommodation. The oculomotor nerve is derived from the basal plate of the embryonic midbrain. Cranial nerves IV and VI also participate in control of eye movement.

Olfactory nerveW
Olfactory nerve

The olfactory nerve is typically considered the first cranial nerve, or simply CN I, that contains sensory nerve fibers relating to the sense of smell.

Optic nerveW
Optic nerve

The optic nerve, also known as cranial nerve II, or simply as CN II, is a paired cranial nerve that transmits visual information from the retina to the brain. In humans, the optic nerve is derived from optic stalks during the seventh week of development and is composed of retinal ganglion cell axons and glial cells; it extends from the optic disc to the optic chiasma and continues as the optic tract to the lateral geniculate nucleus, pretectal nuclei, and superior colliculus.

Table of cranial nervesW
Table of cranial nerves

Trigeminal ganglionW
Trigeminal ganglion

The trigeminal ganglion is a sensory ganglion of the trigeminal nerve that occupies a cavity in the dura mater, covering the trigeminal impression near the apex of the petrous part of the temporal bone.

Trigeminal nerveW
Trigeminal nerve

The trigeminal nerve (the fifth cranial nerve, or simply CN V) is a nerve responsible for sensation in the face and motor functions such as biting and chewing; it is the most complex of the cranial nerves. Its name ("trigeminal" = tri-, or three, and - geminus, or twin: thrice-twinned) derives from the fact that each of the two nerves (one on each side of the pons) has three major branches: the ophthalmic nerve (V1), the maxillary nerve (V2), and the mandibular nerve (V3). The ophthalmic and maxillary nerves are purely sensory, whereas the mandibular nerve supplies motor as well as sensory (or "cutaneous") functions. Adding to the complexity of this nerve is the fact that autonomic nerve fibers as well as special sensory fibers (taste) are contained within it.

Trochlear nerveW
Trochlear nerve

The trochlear nerve, also called the fourth cranial nerve or CN IV, is a motor nerve that innervates only a single muscle: the superior oblique muscle of the eye, which operates through the pulley-like trochlea.

Vagus nerveW
Vagus nerve

The vagus nerve, historically cited as the pneumogastric nerve, is the tenth cranial nerve or CN X, and interfaces with the parasympathetic control of the heart, lungs, and digestive tract. The vagus nerves are normally referred to in the singular. It is the longest nerve of the autonomic nervous system in the human body and comprises sensory and motor fibers. The sensory fibers originate from neurons of the nodose ganglion, whereas the motor fibers come from neurons of the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus and the nucleus ambiguus.

Vestibulocochlear nerveW
Vestibulocochlear nerve

The vestibulocochlear nerve, known as the eighth cranial nerve, transmits sound and equilibrium (balance) information from the inner ear to the brain. Through olivocochlear fibers, it also transmits motor and modulatory information from the superior olivary complex in the brainstem to the cochlea.