| Meaning | Any of the 12 paired nerves that originate in the brain stem. |
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| Narrower | abducent, abducent nerve, abducens, abducens nerve, nervus abducens, sixth cranial nerve | A small motor nerve supplying the lateral rectus muscle of the eye |
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| accessory nerve, spinal accessory, nervus accessorius, eleventh cranial nerve | Arises from two sets of roots (cranial and spinal) that unite to form the nerve |
| acoustic nerve, auditory nerve, vestibulocochlear nerve, nervus vestibulocochlearis, eighth cranial nerve | A composite sensory nerve supplying the hair cells of the vestibular organ and the hair cells of the cochlea |
| facial, facial nerve, nervus facialis, seventh cranial nerve | cranial nerve that supplies facial muscles |
| glossopharyngeal nerve, nervus glossopharyngeus, ninth cranial nerve | sensory nerve to the pharynx and back of the tongue |
| hypoglossal, hypoglossal nerve, nervus hypoglosus, twelfth cranial nerve | Supplies intrinsic muscles of the tongue and other tongue muscles |
| oculomotor, oculomotor nerve, nervus oculomotorius, third cranial nerve | Supplies extrinsic muscles of the eye |
| olfactory nerve, nervii olfactorii, first cranial nerve | A collective term for numerous olfactory filaments in the nasal mucosa |
| optic nerve, nervus opticus, second cranial nerve, optic tract | The cranial nerve that serves the retina |
| trigeminal, trigeminal nerve, trigeminus, nervus trigeminus, fifth cranial nerve | The main sensory nerve of the face and motor nerve for the muscles of mastication |
| trochlear, trochlear nerve, trochlearis, fourth cranial nerve | Either of the two cranial nerves on either side that control the superior oblique muscles of the eyes |
| vagus, vagus nerve, nervus vagus, pneumogastric, pneumogastric nerve, tenth cranial nerve, wandering nerve | A mixed nerve that supplies the pharynx and larynx and lungs and heart and esophagus and stomach and most of the abdominal viscera |
| Broader | nerve, nervus | Any bundle of nerve fibers running to various organs and tissues of the body |
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| Spanish | nervio craneal |
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| Catalan | nervi cranial |
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