Cranial Nerves

Olfactory Nerve

Cranial nerve I

*purely sensory

*sense of smell

Optic Nerve

Cranial Nerve II

*purely sensory

*sense of sight

Oculomotor Nerve

Cranial Nerve III

*purely motor

*stimulates the ciliary smooth muscle - constrict pupil and bend lens (parasympathetic funcion

*moves eyeyball by controlling 4 eye skeletal muscles: medial rectus, inferior rectus, superior rectus, and inferior oblique

*attaches to the brainstem

*tested to check for brainstem activity (pupils fixed and dilated means that it is not functioning properly)

Trochlear Nerve

Cranial Nerve IV

*moves eyeball by controlling the superior oblique skeletal muscle

Trigeminal Nerve

*Cranial Nerve V

*responsible for sense of feeling on the face (three branches - forehead, upper jaw, and lower jaw)

Abducens Nerve

Cranial Nerve VI

*purely motor

*moves eyeball (abducts it) by controlling the lateral rectus eye muscle

Facial Nerve

Cranial nerve VII

*Sensory - sense of taste for the front of the tongue. *Somatic Movement of the facial expression skeletal muscles

*parasympathetic stimulation of salivary and lacrimal glands.

vestibulocochlear nerve

cranial nerve VIII

*purely sensory

*carries balance information and hearing to the temporal lobe for processing

glossopharyngeal nerve ("tongue and pharynx")

Cranial nerve IX.

*Sense of taste for the back of the tongue. *Somatic movement of the skeletal muscles for swallowing

*Parasympathetic stimulation of the parotid salivary glands.

*carries baroreptor information from the carotid sinuses

Vagus nerve ("wanderer")

Cranial nerve X.

*Sensory information from the internal organs -- particularly notable for connecting GI activity with the brainstem, and for carrying baroreceptor information from the heart to the brainstem.

*Parasympathetic motor for internal (visceral) organs - slows heart, dilates bronchi, stimulates GI organs, etc.

accessory nerve

Cranial Nerve XI

*purely somatic motor to move trapezius and sternocleidomastoid

hypoglossal ("under tongue")

Cranial Nerve XII

*purely somatic motor

*controls tongue skeletal muscles