Cranial nerve

Article By:

Webster, Douglas B. Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Biocommunication, Louisiana State University Medical Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Last reviewed:August 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.166800

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• Cranial nerve, published November 2019:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

Any peripheral nerve that has its central nervous system connection with the brain, as opposed to the spinal cord, and reaches the brain through a hole (foramen) in the skull. The cranial nerves are involved in providing sensory and motor innervation to areas in the head, face, and neck, as well as organs in the body as part of the autonomic nervous system. The sensory innervations include the senses of vision, hearing, smell, taste, and balance, as well as general somatic sensations including touch, temperature, and pain. Motor innervations include movement of the eyes and movement of the mouth and tongue for producing speech, as well as functions such as chewing and swallowing. Cranial nerves also exert functional parasympathetic control over breathing, heart rate, peristalsis (the wave-like movement of muscles in the gastrointestinal tract), and sweating. See also: Autonomic nervous system; Sensation; Somesthesis

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