Posted in Psychology & Medicine

Cranial Nerves

Nerves can be divided broadly as spinal nerves and cranial nerves: the latter which is directly from the brain. There are 12 pairs of cranial nerves:

  1. CN IOlfactory nerve (smell)
  2. CN IIOptic nerve (sight)
  3. CN IIIOculomotor nerve (eye movements, control of pupil and lens)
  4. CN IVTrochlear nerve (eye movements)
  5. CN VTrigeminal nerve (sensory information from face and mouth, chewing)
  6. CN VIAbducens nerve (eye movements)
  7. CN VIIFacial nerve (taste, tear and salivary glands secretion, facial expressions)
  8. CN VIIIVestibulocochlear nerve (hearing and sense of balance)
  9. CN IXGlossopharyngeal nerve (taste, swallowing, parotid gland secretion, sensory information from oral cavity, information about blood)
  10. CN XVagus nerve (sensory and motor signals to and from many internal organs, glands and muscles)
  11. CN XIAccessory nerve (movement of SCM and trapezius, which are neck/shoulder muscles)
  12. CN XIIHypoglossal nerve (tongue movements)

As there are so many nerves and the names are all varied, there is a simple (yet very obscene) mnemonic to help medical students remember the names and order of nerves:

Oh, Oh, Oh, To Touch And Feel Virgin Girls’ Vaginas And Hymens
or
Oh, Oh, Oh, To Touch And Feel A Girl’s Very Soft Hands
(where vestibulocochlear -> auditory)

It is also worth noting the mnemonic for the types of nerves is:

Some Say Marry Money, But My Brother Says Big Boobs Matter More

Perhaps the only way to survive medical school is through humour.