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Cranial nerves are the nerves that emerge directly from the brain (including the brainstem), of which there are conventionally considered twelve pairs. Cranial nerves relay information between the brain and parts of the body, primarily to and from regions of the head and neck , including the special senses of vision , taste , smell , and hearing .
Leaving the skull, the nerve travels through the jugular foramen with the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves. [8] The spinal accessory nerve is notable for being the only cranial nerve to both enter and exit the skull. This is due to it being unique among the cranial nerves in having neurons in the spinal cord. [9]
The nucleus ambiguus is classically said to provide the "cranial component" of the accessory nerve. However, the very existence of this cranial component has been recently questioned and seen as contributing exclusively to the vagus nerve. The terminology continues to be used in describing both human anatomy, [1] and that of other animals. [2]
These are aggregations of efferent nerve fibers from the upper motor neurons that travel from the cerebral cortex and terminate either in the brainstem (corticobulbar) or spinal cord (corticospinal) and are involved in the control of motor functions of the body. The corticobulbar tract conducts impulses from the brain to the cranial nerves. [1]
Sectional organization of spinal cord. The spinal cord is the main pathway for information connecting the brain and peripheral nervous system. [3] [4] Much shorter than its protecting spinal column, the human spinal cord originates in the brainstem, passes through the foramen magnum, and continues through to the conus medullaris near the second lumbar vertebra before terminating in a fibrous ...
The corticobulbar (or corticonuclear) tract is a two-neuron white matter motor pathway connecting the motor cortex in the cerebral cortex to the medullary pyramids, which are part of the brainstem's medulla oblongata (also called "bulbar") region, and are primarily involved in carrying the motor function of the non-oculomotor cranial nerves, like muscles of the face, head and neck.
Between the two pyramids can be seen a decussation of fibers which marks the transition from the medulla to the spinal cord. The medulla is above the decussation and the spinal cord below. From behind The appearance of a cadaveric brainstem from behind, with major parts labelled. The most medial part of the medulla is the posterior median sulcus.
Neurons of the SN are notably functionally arranged roughly length-wise along the nucleus: gustatory neurons are situated rostrally (with afferents from the anterior part of the tongue and roof of oral cavity rostral-most, and those from the larynx and epiglottis more caudally placed); gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, respiratory neurons are situated more caudally.