Let's learn about cranial nerves, which help your face to smile, your eyes to blink, and your head to turn on your shoulders.
(kray-nee-uhl) Cranial nerves are so called because they are found in the part of the skull called the cranium (kray-nee-um).
(kray-nee-uhl) From the front to the back, cranial nerves are found in different parts of the brain. There are 12 pairs of cranial nerves.
Cranial nerves use numbers called Roman numerals. Let's review Roman numerals before we go on to the next part of the lesson.
______I______ ______II______ ______III______ ______IV______ ______V______ ______VI______ ______VII______ ______VIII_____ ______IX______ ______X______ ______XI______ ______XII_____
ROMAN NUMERALS
______1______ ______2______ ______3______ ______4______ ______5______ ______6______ ______7______ ______8______ ______9______ ______10______ ______11______ ______12______
STANDARD NUMBERS
Cranial nerves control our senses of sight, taste, smell, touch, and hearing. They control organs, such as the heart and lungs. And they help us move parts of our bodies.
1 = Cranial Nerve I 2 = Cranial Nerve II 3 = Cranial Nerve III 4 = Cranial Nerve IV 5 = Cranial Nerve V 6 = Cranial Nerve VI 7 = Cranial Nerve VII 8 = Cranial Nerve VIII 9 = Cranial Nerve IX 10 = Cranial Nerve X 11 = Cranial Nerve XI 12 = Cranial Nerve XII
I. Olfactory nerve II. Optic nerve III. Oculomotor nerve IV. Trochlear nerve V. Trigeminal nerve VI. Abducens nerve VII. Facial nerve VIII. Vestibulocochlear nerve IX. Glossopharyngeal nerve X. Vagus nerve XI. Accessory nerve XII. Hypoglossal nerve
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Let's look at the parts of the face and body the cranial nerves act on.
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Cranial Nerve I (1) controls your sense of smell.
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Cranial Nerve II (2) connects the eyeball to the occipital lobe in the back of the brain. This nerve controls your sense of sight.
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Cranial Nerve III (3) helps your eyes move and focus. This nerve also controls the size of the pupils so they change when light hits them.
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Cranial Nerve IV (4) moves your eyes down, out, and to the center.
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Cranial Nerve V (5) is the biggest cranial nerve. It controls most of your face and moves your jaw muscles when you bite, chew, and swallow.
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Cranial Nerve VI (6) moves your eye outward. You use this nerve when you look to the side.
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Cranial Nerve VII (7) allows your face to show different feelings, helps make tears and saliva, and controls the sense of taste.
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Cranial Nerve VIII (8) controls balance and the sense of hearing.
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Cranial Nerves IX (9) gives feeling to the tongue and throat. This nerve helps you swallow and controls your sense of taste.
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Cranial Nerves X (10) is the longest cranial nerve. This nerve controls organs such as the heart, lungs, and gut.
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Cranial Nerve XI (11) controls your neck and shoulders. You use this nerve to shrug your shoulders and turn your head.
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Cranial Nerves XII (12) controls your tongue so you can talk and swallow.
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