The Cranial Nerves – Sensory and Motor functions

The cranial nerves control a large number of our social, sensory and motor functions this is a brief overview of their importance.

Cranial nerves emerge directly from the brain, in contrast to spinal nerves, which emerge from segments of the spinal cord. In humans, there are traditionally twelve pairs of cranial nerves (although an additional anterior pair of nerves, numbered 0, also exists). The first three pairs (including nerve 0) emerge from the cerebrum; the remaining ten pairs emerge from the brainstem.

The cranial nerves are part of the peripheral nervous system (PNS), with the exception of cranial nerve II (the optic nerve), which is not a true peripheral nerve but a tract of the diencephalon leading to the retina; both the optic nerve and the retina are hence part of the brain The axons of the remaining twelve nerves extend beyond the brain and are therefore considered part of the PNS The ganglia of the cranial nerves originate in the CNS

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