Cranial Nerve Examination Flashcards
Cranial Nerve l: Olfactory Nerve
- type: sensory/motor/parasympathetic? [1]
- function? [1]
- tract? [3]
- how to examine? [1]
- Sensory nerve
- Smell
- Olfactory cells of nasal mucosa → olfactory bulbs → pyriform cortex
- Ask patient if there has been any changes in their sense of smell
Cranial Nerve lI: Optic Nerve
- type: sensory/motor/parasympathetic? [1]
- function? [1]
- tract? [4]
- how to examine? [7]
- Sensory nerve
- Vision
- Retinal ganglion cells → optic chiasm → thalamus → primary visual cortex in occipital lobe
- Examination:
- Optic discs with ophthalmoscope
- Pupillary responses
- Pupillary reflexes
- Swinging light test
- Visual acuity (using Snellen chart)
- Visual fields and blind spot (tested by confrontation)
- Eye muscles and movement
What is the abnormality seen in the following ophthalmoscopic image and what features lead you to this diagnosis? [4]

- Papilloedema
- haemorrhage
- obscuration of blood vessels
- blurring of disc margins
What is the abnormality seen in the following opthalmascopic image and what features lead you to this diagnosis? [2]

- optic atrophy/neuritis
- pale optic disc
What is used to test visual acuity? [1]
Snellen Chart

Describe how each eye muscle moves the eye

Cranial Nerve III: Oculomotor → the motor component:
- Nucleus name & location? [2]
- Functions? [2]
- Structures innervated? [5]
- Nucleus:
- oculomotor nucleus
- found in midbrain
- Functions:
- movement of eyeball
- lens accommodation
- Structures innervated:
- inferior oblique muscle
- superior rectus muscle
- medial rectus muscle
- inferior rectus muscle
- levator palpebrae superioris muscle
Cranial Nerve III: Oculomotor → the parasympathetic component:
- Nucleus name & location? [2]
- Function? [1]
- Structures innervated? [2]
- Nucleus:
- Edinger-Westphal nucleus
- found in midbrain
- Function:
- pupil constriction
- Structures innervated:
- ciliary muscle
- pupillary constrictor muscles
What is the diagnosis? [1]

Complete left oculomotor nerve palsy
Cranial Nerve IV: Trochlear
- type: sensory/motor/parasympathetic? [1]
- functions? [2]
- nucleus location? [2]
- structure innervated? [1]
- Motor nerve
- Functions:
- moves eyeball
- depresses the adducted eye
- intorts the abducted eye
- Nucleus location:
- inferior colliculus of midbrain
- Structure innervated:
- superior oblique muscle
What is unique about cranial nerves II and IV? [1]
II and IV are only nerves to decussate to contralateral side
Cranial Nerve VI: Abducens
- type: sensory/motor/parasympathetic? [1]
- functions? [1]
- nucleus location? [1]
- structure innervated? [1]
- Motor nerve
- Function:
- eyeball movement to the side
- Nucleus:
- pons
- Structure innervated:
- lateral rectus muscles
What is the diagnosis? [1]

left abducens nerve palsy
What is internuclear ophthalmoplegia, what does it result from and what condition is it commonly associated with? [3]
- Disorder of conjugate gaze which presents as failure of adduction of affected eye with nystagmus on lateral gaze in contralateral eye and can be unilateral or bilateral
- Results from lesion of medial longitudinal fasciculus (connects 3rd and 6th nerve nuclei)
- Commonly seen in multiple sclerosis
Describe Horner’s Syndrome:
- symptoms? [4]
- causes? [9]
- Symptoms:
- Miosis
- Ptosis
- Apparent enophthalmos
- Anhidrosis
- Causes/Pathogenesis:
- Results from ipsilateral disruption of cervical/thoracic sympathetic chain:
- Congenital
- Brainstem stroke
- Cluster headache
- Apical lung tumour
- Multiple sclerosis
- Carotid artery dissection
- Cervical rib
- Syringomyelia
- Results from ipsilateral disruption of cervical/thoracic sympathetic chain:
Cranial Nerve V: Trigeminal → the sensory component:
- Nucleus locations? [2]
- Structures innervated? [4]
- Nucleus:
- pons
- medulla
- Structures innervated:
- face → ophthalamic, maxillary + mandibular divisions
- anterior 2/3rds of tongue
Cranial Nerve V: Trigeminal → the motor component:
- Nucleus location? [1]
- Function? [1]
- Structures innervated? [4]
- Nucleus:
- pons
- Function:
- mastication
- Structures innervated:
- masseter
- temporalis
- medial pterygoids
- lateral pterygoids
- What is the diagnosis?
- What nerve is affected?
- Who is at increased risk of developing this?
- How do you treat it?

- Diagnosis:
- Herpes zoster ophthalmicus
- What nerve does it affect?
- Affects V1 of trigeminal nerve
- Who is at increased risk?
- Elderly
- Immuno-compromised
- Treatment:
- Oral acyclovir
Cranial Nerve VII: Facial → the motor component:
- Nucleus location? [1]
- Function? [1]
- Nucleus:
- pons
- Function:
- innervates muscle of facial expression
Cranial Nerve VII: Facial → the sensory component:
- Nucleus location? [1]
- Function? [1]
- Structures innervated? [1]
- Nucleus:
- medulla
- Function:
- taste
- Structures innervated:
- anterior 2/3rds of tongue
Cranial Nerve VII: Facial → the parasympathetic component:
- Nucleus location? [1]
- Functions? [2]
- Structures innervated? [2]
- Nucleus:
- medulla
- Function:
- salivation
- lacrimation
- Structures innervated:
- salivary glands
- lacrimal glands
How do you distinguish between an upper motor neurone lesion (UMN lesion) and lower motor neurone lesion (LMN lesion)? [2]
- Upper motor neurone lesions will present as weakness of inferior facial muscles
- The forehead is spared
- Lower motor neurone lesions will present as weakness of superior and inferior facial muscles
- = Bell’s palsy

The Corneal Reflex:
- how do you test it?
- what nerves are you testing?
- what is it a test of?
- How to test it?
- lightly touch cornea with cotton wool
- What nerves are you testing?
- afferent: CN V
- efferent: CN VII
- What is it a test of?
- test of pontine function
Cranial Nerve VIII: Vestibulocochlear
- type: sensory/motor/parasympathetic? [1]
- functions? [2]
- nucleus location? [2]
- structure innervated and tracts? [4]
- Sensory nerve
- Functions:
- hearing
- balance
- Nucleus location:
- pons
- medulla
- Structure innervated:
- cochlear → auditory cortex in the temporal lobes
- nerve endings within semi-circular canals → cerebellum and spinal cord
Cranial Nerve IX: Glossopharyngeal → the sensory component:
- Nucleus location? [1]
- Functions? [3]
- Structures innervated? [3]
- Nucleus:
- medulla
- Functions:
- taste
- proprioception for swallowing
- blood pressure receptors
- Structures innervated:
- posterior 1/3rd of tongue
- pharyngeal wall
- carotid
Cranial Nerve IX: Glossopharyngeal → the motor component:
- Nucleus location? [1]
- Functions? [2]
- Structures innervated? [2]
- Nucleus:
- medulla
- Functions:
- swallow and gag reflex
- lacrimation
- Structures innervated:
- pharyngeal muscles
- lacrimal glands
Cranial Nerve IX: Glossopharyngeal → the parasympathetic component:
- Function? [1]
- Structure innervated? [1]
- Function:
- saliva production
- Structure innervated:
- salivary glands
What is the diagnosis and how do you know? [2]

- left glossopharyngeal nerve palsy
- glossopharyngeal palsy causes deviation of uvula away from the side of the lesion
Cranial Nerve X: Vagus → the sensory component:
- Nucleus location? [1]
- Functions? [3]
- Structures innervated? [3]
- Nucleus location:
- medulla
- Function:
- chemoreceptors
- pain receptors
- sensation
- Structures innervated:
- chemoreceptors on carotid bodies → monitoring blood oxygen concentration
- pain receptors → respiratory and digestive tract
- sensation in external ear, larynx and pharynx
Cranial Nerve X: Vagus → the motor component:
- Nucleus location? [1]
- Functions? [4]
- Structures innervated? [4]
- Nucleus location:
- medulla
- Functions:
- heart rate and stroke volume
- peristalsis
- air flow
- speech and swallowing
- Structures innervated:
- pacemaker and ventricular muscles
- smooth muscles of the digestive tract
- smooth muscles in bronchial tubes
- muscles of larynx and pharynx
Cranial Nerve X: Vagus → the parasympathetic component:
- Structures innervated? [2]
- smooth muscles and glands of the same areas innervated by motor component
- as well as thoracic and abdominal areas
Cranial Nerve XI: Spinal Accessory
- type: sensory/motor/parasympathetic? [1]
- functions? [2]
- nucleus location? [1]
- structures innervated? [2]
- how to test it? [2]
- Motor nerve
- Functions:
- shoulder shrugging
- head rotation
- Nucleus location:
- medulla
- Structure innervated:
- sternocleidomastoid muscle
- trapezius muscle
- How to test CN XI:
- Turn your head to the side and resist my hand
- Shrug your shoulders up and resist my hand
Cranial Nerve XII: Hypoglossal
- type: sensory/motor/parasympathetic? [1]
- functions? [2]
- nucleus location? [1]
- structure innervated? [1]
- Motor nerve
- Functions:
- speech
- swallowing
- Nucleus location:
- medulla
- Structure innervated:
- tongue
What is the diagnosis and how do you know? [2]

- left-sided hypoglossal nerve palsy
- tongue deviates towards the side of the lesion
Multiple Cranial Nerve Syndromes
What cranial nerves would be affected by a lesion in the:
- cavernous sinus? [5]
- superior orbital fissue? [4]
- cerebellopontine angle? [3]
- jugular foramen? [3]
- bulbar/pseudobulbar palsy? [4]
- Cavernous sinus?
- III
- IV
- V (1st and 2nd divisions)
- VI
- Horner’s syndrome
- Superior orbital fissure?
- III
- IV
- V (1st division)
- VI
- Cerebellopontine angle?
- V
- VII
- VIII
- Jugular foramen?
- IX
- X
- (and XI)
- Bulbar/pseudobulbar palsy?
- IX
- X
- XI
- (and XII)