12 PAIRS OF CRANIAL NERVES

Cranial Nerve

Function

I – Olfactory

Sensory

Sense of smell

II – Optic

Sensory

Sense of sight

III – Oculomotor

Mixed

Voluntary motor fibers for eyeball muscles

IV – Trochlear

Motor

Turning eyeballs downward & laterally

V – Trigeminal

Mixed

Sensation on face area (i.e., cheek & forehead) & movement of muscles for mastication

VI – Abducens

Motor

Lateral movement of eyeballs

VII – Facial

Mixed

Muscles of face & scalp; taste from anterior 2/3 of tongue

VIII – Auditory-Vestibular

Sensory

Sense of hearing & equilibrium

IX – Glossopharyngeal

Mixed

Assists in swallowing (motor); posterior 1/3 of tongue & pharynx (sensory)

X – Vagus

Mixed

Internal organs (heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas, …)

XI – Spinal Accessory

Motor

Soft palate, pharynx, & larynx

XII - Hypoglossal

Motor

Muscles of tongue controlling its shape & movement