cranial nerve

noun

, Anatomy.

1. any of the nerves arising from the brainstem and exiting to the periphery of the head through skull openings, including 10 pairs in fish and amphibians and 12 pairs in reptiles, birds, and mammals: in humans, these are the abducens nerve, accessory nerve, auditory nerve, facial nerve, glossopharyngeal nerve, hypoglossal nerve, oculomotor nerve, olfactory nerve, optic nerve, trigeminal nerve, trochlear nerve, and vagus nerve.

cranial nerve

noun

1. any of the 12 paired nerves that have their origin in the brain and reach the periphery through natural openings in the skull

cranial nerve

1. Any of the 12 pairs of nerves in humans and other mammals that connect the muscles and sensory organs of the head and upper chest directly to the brain through openings in the skull. The cranial nerves include the optic nerve and the auditory nerve.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cranial nerve¹

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

For those who do survive, he added, 50 percent of them are left with long-term physical or mental impairments, running the gambit from intellectual disability, seizures, paralysis and cranial nerve dysfunction.

From Salon

They discovered a vascular tumor the size of a golf ball pressing on her brain stem and entangled in blood vessels and cranial nerves.

From Seattle Times

Among the known drainage routes are lymphatic vessels around the cranial nerves and the upper region of the nasal cavity.

From Science Daily

Min said the stabbing damaged Lee’s jugular vein but did not affect his artery, cranial nerve, esophagus or respiratory tract.

From Seattle Times

The vagus nerve is the longest of the cranial nerves, which emerge directly from the brain rather than traveling through the spinal cord.

From Scientific American