Cranial Nerves Summary

geekymedics.com/cranial-nerves-explained/

William Maish September 29,

2015

The cranial nerves are twelve pairs of nerves from the central nervous system. The
cranial nerves are loosely based on their functions. In this summary, we discuss the
nomenclature of the cranial nerves and supply some background information that might
make it easier to understand the nerves and their function.

This summary should read alongside the complete articles for each of the cranial nerves:

Olfactory nerve (CN I)

Optic nerve (CN II)
Oculomotor nerve (CN III)
Trochlear nerve (CN IV)
Trigeminal nerve (CN V)
Abducens nerve (CN VI)
Facial nerve (CN VII)
Vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII)
Glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX)
Vagus nerve (CN X)
Accessory nerve (CN XI)
Hypoglossal nerve (CN XII)

Download our cranial nerves PDF summary table here.

You can also check out our Cranial Nerve Anatomy Quiz here.

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 Cranial nerves and cranial foramina diagram1

Cranial nerve nuclei

The cranial nerve nuclei will be covered in more detail in each cranial nerve article. For
now, it is worthwhile knowing that a nucleus refers to a collection of neuronal cell bodies
within the central nervous system and they give rise to one of seven major types of
fibres (below):

GSA – general somatic afferent – receive sensory information from the skin,
skeletal muscles and joints
GVA – general visceral afferent – receive sensory information from the viscera
(organs)
SSA – special somatic afferent – receive sensory information from the ectodermal
retina, cochlear and vestibular apparatus
SVA – special visceral afferent – receive sensory information from the endodermal
nose and tongue
GSE – general somatic efferent – provide motor innervation to skeletal muscles
GVE – general visceral efferent – provide secretomotor function to smooth muscle
and glands
SVE – special visceral efferent – provide motor innervation to skeletal muscles of
the pharyngeal arches

Afferent fibres carry sensory information back to the brain. Efferent fibres carry motor
information away from the brain.

The cranial nerves themselves can be a complex area of anatomy to learn. We have
broken the cranial nerves down to their bare essentials. The other cranial nerve articles
in this series build on the information presented here.

Olfactory nerve (CN I)

CN I is the olfactory nerve
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 It provides special visceral afferent fibres for smell
It connects to the brain (not the brainstem!)
It passes through the cribriform plate of the skull

Optic nerve (CN II)

CN II is the optic nerve
It provides special somatic afferent fibres for vision
It connects to the brain (not the brainstem!)
It is the afferent limb for the pupillary light reflex
It passes through the optic canal of the skull

Oculomotor nerve (CNIII)

CNIII is the oculomotor nerve
It provides general somatic efferent and general visceral efferent fibres to the
extraocular muscles and pupillary constrictor muscles respectively
The muscles are the levator palpebrae superioris, inferior oblique, and superior,
medial and inferior recti
CN III damage causes a ‘down and out’ eye – you can deduce what its function is
from this
It connects to the midbrain
It is the efferent limb for the pupillary light reflex
It passes through the superior orbital fissure of the skull

Trochlear nerve (CN IV)

CN IV is the trochlear nerve
It provides general somatic efferent to the extraocular superior oblique muscle
It assists in depressing and abducting the eye
It connects to the midbrain and is the only cranial nerve to leave the
pontomesencephalic junction posteriorly
It passes through the superior orbital fissure of the skull

Trigeminal nerve (CN V)

CN V is the trigeminal nerve
It has three sensory nuclei:
Mesencephalic – proprioception
Principal – light touch and discrimination
Spinal – pain, temperature, crude touch

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 It emerges from the pons
It is the afferent limb of the corneal reflex; CN VII is the bilateral efferent limb
It has three divisions (ophthalmic, maxillary and mandibular)

Division Modality Sensory Motor Foramen

function function

Ophthalmic General Above the lower X Superior

Somatic eyelid orbital fissure
V1 Afferent

Maxillary General Lower eyelid to X Foramen

Somatic the upper lip rotundum
V2 Afferent

Mandibular General Below upper lip Muscles of Foramen

Somatic mastication ovale
V3 Afferent

Special Visceral
Efferent

Abducens nerve (CN VI)

CN VI is the abducens nerve
It originates in the pontomedullary region
It provides general somatic efferent fibres for eye abduction
It innervates the lateral rectus muscle
It passes through the superior orbital fissure of the skull

Facial nerve (CN VII)

CN VII is the facial nerve
It originates in the pontomedullary region
The facial nerve loops around the abducens nucleus
It passes through the internal auditory meatus and exits through the stylomastoid
foramen
LMN facial nerve lesions cause upper and lower facial paralysis
UMN facial nerve lesions cause lower facial paralysis only
It provides many structures with innervation (shown in the table below)

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General Special General visceral efferent Special
somatic visceral visceral
afferent afferent efferent

Skin behind Taste to Parasympathetic to the lacrimal, Muscles of

the ear anterior 2/3 of sublingual and submandibular facial
the tongue glands expression

Vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII)

CN VIII is the vestibulocochlear nerve
It originates in the pontomedullary region
It provides special somatic afferent fibres for hearing and balance
The cochlea transmits sound waves to mechanical ossicle movements to
electrochemical action potentials
The vestibular apparatus detects changes in head motion
It passes through the internal auditory meatus and does not leave the skull

Glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX)

CN IX is the glossopharyngeal nerve
It originates in the medulla oblongata
It draws fibres from the solitary nucleus (taste) and nucleus ambiguus (motor)
It draws more fibres from the inferior salivatory nucleus (parotid gland) and dorsal
motor nucleus (DMX; pharyngeal sensation)
It passes through the jugular foramen
It provides many fibre types (shown in the table below)

General somatic Special General Special visceral

afferent visceral visceral efferent
afferent efferent

Sensation from the Taste to Parasympathetic Motor to

posterior 1/3 of the posterior 1/3 of to parotid stylopharyngeus
tongue, pharynx the tongue glands

Vagus nerve (CN X)

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 CN X is the vagus nerve
It originates in the medulla oblongata
Its major role is parasympathetic innervation of the viscera
The recurrent laryngeal nerve loops under the right subclavian artery and (left)
aortic arch
It passes through the jugular foramen with CN IX and XI
It provides many fibre types (shown in the table below)

General Special General General Special visceral

somatic visceral visceral visceral efferent
afferent afferent afferent efferent

Skin Taste and Sensory Parasympathetic Motor innervation

around sensation to information to glands of GI to soft palate,
ear the epiglottis to body tract pharynx and
viscera larynx

Accessory nerve (CN XI)

CN XI is the accessory nerve
It originates in the medulla oblongata and superior cervical cord region
It provides general somatic efferent fibres to the trapezius and
sternocleidomastoid
It exits the spinal cord in the neck and enters the skull through the foramen
magnum
It then leaves the skull by the jugular foramen with CNs IX and X

Hypoglossal nerve (CN XII)

CN XII is the hypoglossal nerve
It originates in the medulla oblongata
It provides general somatic efferent fibres for controlling tongue muscles
It exits the skull through the hypoglossal canal

Cranial nerve summary table

You can download our cranial nerve summary table in PDF format here .

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NERVE MODALITY FIBRE FUNCTION FORAMEN
TYPE

I – Olfactory Sensory SVA Smell Cribriform

plate

II – Optic Sensory SSA Vision Optic canal

III – Oculomotor Motor GSE, Extraocular muscles Superior

GVE and eyelid elevator orbital
fissure

IV – Trochlear Motor GSE Superior oblique Superior

muscle orbital
fissure

V – Trigeminal Both GSA V1 – ophthalmic – V1 –

face sensation superior
GSA orbital
V2 – maxillary – face fissure
GSA, sensation
SVE V2 –
V3 – ophthalmic – foramen
face sensation rotundum

V3 –
foramen
ovale

VI – Abducens Motor GSE Lateral rectus Superior

orbital
fissure

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VII – Facial Both GSA, Muscles of facial Internal
SVA, expression + acoustic
GVE, stapedius meatus
SVE
Taste to the anterior to
2/3 of the tongue stylomastoid
foramen
Tear and salivary
ducts

VIII – Sensory SSA Balance – vestibular Internal

Vestibulocochlear division acoustic
meatus
Hearing – cochlear
division

IX – Both GSA, Taste for posterior Jugular

Glossopharyngeal SVA, 1/3 of the tongue foramen
GVE,
SVE Sensation to pharynx

Innervates
stylopharyngeus

X – Vagus Both GSA, Parasympathetic Jugular

SVA, innervation to viscera foramen
GVA, above splenic flexure
GVE,
SVE Laryngeal muscles
and palatoglossus

XI – Accessory Motor GSE Motor control to SCM Jugular

and trapezius foramen

XII – Hypoglossal Motor GSE Innervates tongue Hypoglossal

muscles except for canal
palatoglossus

References
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Reference texts
Sinnatamby, C. S. (2011). Last’s Anatomy, International Edition: Regional and Applied.
Elsevier Health Sciences.
Moore, K. L., Dalley, A. F., & Agur, A. M. (2013). Clinically oriented anatomy. Lippincott
Williams & Wilkins.
Nolte, J. (2002). The human brain: an introduction to its functional anatomy.
Snell, R. S. (2010). Clinical neuroanatomy. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Reference images
1. Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator [CC BY 2.5
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)]. Modified by Dr Lewis Potter.

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