Cranial nerve 3, the oculomotor nerve, allows the eye to track the movement of objects by supplying nerve impulses to the muscles around the eye. It also supplies nerve function to the eye itself, allowing the lens to change shape, to facilitate...
Of the 12 cranial nerves that exit from the brain through openings in the skull, five serve functions having to do with the mouth. Some of these are sensory nerves, which allow the brain to detect sensation in and around the mouth. Some are motor...
Located beneath the large muscles on either side of the neck, or the sternocleidomastoids, the carotid sheath, part of the cervical band of tissue, or fascia, encloses the carotid artery, the internal jugular vein and the vagus nerve. World...
Cranial nerves are a set of 12 nerve pairs that connect from the brain to areas of the face, neck, shoulders and some internal organs. The nerves run through holes in the skull. Each set of nerves are paired for service on each side of the body....
Cranial nerves are nerves that emerge directly from the brain as opposed to the spinal cord. There are 12 pairs of cranial nerves with motor and sensory functions. Problems with cranial nerves may affect a motor nerve, called a cranial nerve...
"LR 6, SO 4, 3" is one of the many expressions that medical students across the country memorize, for it represents three of the cranial nerves and the eye muscles that they affect. There are actually 12 cranial nerves; three of them stimulate the...
There are 12 paired cranial nerves that exit the skull under the brain's surface that extend to various parts of the head, neck, chest and abdomen. The cranial nerves comprises three nerve types: motor nerves that send an impulse signal to a...
Eyes that remained fixed in one spot would severely limit your ability to take in the world around you. Fortunately, nerves transmit signals from the brain to the muscles attached to the eye to make them move up, down and sideways. Nerves also...
The cranial nerves are 12 pairs of nerves that connect directly to the brain, unlike most other nerves which connect to the spinal cord. The nerves going out to the body may be voluntary, such as those controlling skeletal muscles, or they may be...
There are two ways that nerves exit the central nervous system and become part of the peripheral nervous system--through openings in the vertebrae of the spine or through openings in the skull, or cranium. Twelve cranial nerves conduct signals to...
There are 12 cranial nerves that pass directly from the brain through openings in the skull. Each of these nerves serves a unique function: some provide sensory information to the brain; some allow messages to pass from the brain to muscles,...
There are twelve nerves in the human body that exit from the central nervous system via openings in the skull. These are known as cranial nerves. The 12 cranial nerves are responsible for regulating numerous diverse functions, from allowing the...
All of the muscles of the eye are active in any eye movement. Muscles control right-to-left and up-and-down movement. Extrensic (extraorbital) muscles include the levator palpebrae superioris, medial and lateral rectus, superior and inferior...
The 12 cranial nerves control the muscles of the face, receive sensory input from the face, control heart rate and respiration, and transmit the special senses--vision, smell and hearing--to the brain. According to "Harrison's Principles of...
An acoustic neuroma is a tumor located on the nerve that supplies the inner ear. Unilateral acoustic neuromas are acoustic neuromas that only affect one ear. The tumor affects the eighth cranial nerve and is responsible for 7 percent of all tumors...
Tuberculous meningitis, also called TB meningitis, affects the meninges, which are membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. Caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis, TB meningitis occurs only rarely, according to Medline Plus. The...
Although the exact cause of migraines and headaches is not well known, they all have a common anatomy and physiology. The brainstem and upper cervical spinal cord contain a region called the trigeminocervical nucleus. This area is controlled by...
Double vision is a condition in which the sufferer can see two images of one object in front of him. This may occur in one eye, a condition called monocular diplopia, or it may only be present when using both eyes, a condition called binocular...
Bell's palsy is sudden but temporary paralysis of one side of your face (or rarely, both sides). If you have Bell's palsy, your face might feel weak, or it might twitch; one side of your mouth might droop and you might be unable to close your eye....
Tetanus is caused by an infection with the bacterium Clostridium tetani. The bacterial spores are present in soil, dust and animal manure; they remain infectious in the environment for an extended period. Tetanus infection typically occurs through...
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Moebius syndrome is a rare birth defect that affects the sixth cranial nerve, which moves muscles of the face, and the seventh cranial nerve, which moves eyes side-to-side....
In 1982, a paper in the Archives of Opthamology entitled Chronic Sixth Nerve Palsies indicated that eye doctors commonly encounter sixth nerve palsies. The condition is generally "benign." If your doctor diagnoses you with sixth nerve palsy, he...
Autonomic neuropathy refers to the various symptoms that can occur when the function of an autonomic nerve is disrupted. The autonomic nerves perform such functions as regulating blood pressure, controlling digestion and enabling sexual function....
There are two major nerves in the face: the facial and trigeminal nerves. According to the Face and Emotion website, the facial, or seventh cranial nerve, carries the signals that control the muscles of expression of the face. The trigeminal, or...
Cranial neuralgia refers to pain originating in one or more of the cranial nerves. The twelve cranial nerves exit from the brain through openings in the skull to conduct sensory, motor and autonomic nerve impulses to and from the brain, face and...
The brain stem, located between the cerebrum and the spinal cord, consists of three parts--the midbrain, the pons and the medulla. Symptoms of brain stem tumors vary according to the precise location of the tumor. The most common type of tumor in...
The vestibular nerve and the cochlear nerve join to form the vestibulocochlear nerve, or cranial nerve VIII, which sends impulses to the brain. Problems with cranial nerve VIII can cause problems with hearing; cause tinnitus, where you have a...
The powerful drugs in chemotherapy destroy cancerous cells, but they also damage normal tissue. Some chemotherapy patients experience direct or indirect damage to the central nervous system and the cranial nerves, according to the American Cancer...
Acoustic neuroma is another name for vestibular schwannoma, a benign tumor that grows on the eighth cranial nerve. It relays information between the brain and inner ear. An acoustic neuroma can range in size from 1.5cm to as large as 6cm,...