Cranial Nerves Flashcards
Cranial Nerves
- Peripheral nerves that exit / enter the central nervous system
- 31 pairs of spinal nerves
- Some: special sensory or parasympathetic component
- CNs can be motor, sensory, or mixed
Cranial Nerves – Origin
12 pair of cranial nerves
- CNs III - XII exit from the brain stem
- CN I projects directly to the telencephalon
- CN II is an outgrowth of the diencephalon
Spinal Nerves & CNs
Spinal Nerves
• Somatic sensory fibers conveying information from skin, muscle and joint on pain, temperature, and touch
• Visceral sensory information from blood vessels (for BP and chemistry) or visceral structures such as the digestive tract
**• Visceral motor ** autonomic motor to viscera (peristalis, secretion)
**• Somatic motor ** voluntary skeletal muscle
Cranial Nerves
- CNs have somatic sensory, visceral sensory, visceral motor, somatic motor, and a special sensory component (ex: smell, taste, equilibrium).
- Some CNs: parasympathetic function.
Cranial Nerve Nuclei
- Nuclei = Brain of the nerve
- Nuclei are a collection of neuronal cell bodies located within the central nervous system
- Function: Sensory (afferent) axons enter and synapse onto neural cell bodies and motor (effernt) axons originate centrally at nuclei and project to peripheral structures
- The bundles of effernt and afferent axons associated with CN nuclei are the cranial nerves
Cranial Nerve Composition
• Sensory – I, II, VIII • Motor – II, IV, VI, XI, XII • Mixed – V, VII, IX, X
Parasympathetic Function (calming) • CN III Occulomotor Nerve • CN VII Facial Nerve • CIX Glossopharyngeal • CN X Vagus
Functional Components
• Somatic Motor - Striated muscle of tongue and eze
**• Branchial Motor ** - Muscles of mastication, face, larynx, pharynx
**• Visceral Motor ** - Parasympathetic to smooth muscle and glands
**• Visceral Sensory ** - unconsious visceral sensations
• Somatic Sensory - General sensation may or may not be consious in nature
• Special Sensory - taste, smell, hearing, vision, and balance
Name all the Cranial Nerves.
• CN I Olfactory
• CN II Optic
• CN III Oculomotor
• CN IV Trochlear
• CN V Trigeminal
- CN V1 Opthalmic division
- CN V2 Maxillary division
- CN V3 Mandibular division
• CN VI Abducens
• CN VII Facial
• CN VIII Vestibulocochlear
• CN IX Glossopharyngeal
• CN X Vagus
• CN XI Accessory
• CN XII Hypoglossal
CN I Olfactory
Special sensory visceral afferent
Function: Smell
- Communicates with the temporal lobe (Uncus and etorhinal cortex)
- Olfaction: Sesation of odors that results from detection of odorous substances aerosolized in the environment
- Olfactory epithelium: roof of nasal cavity, contains cells whose axons constitute the olfactor nerves (approx. 25 million neurosensory cells per side of nose).
- Nerves pass through the cribiform plate of the ethmoid bone and synapse onto the olfactory bulb
- Axons extend from the bulb to form the olfactory tract which communicates with the medial temporal lobe
• Exit: Foramen of cribiform plate
• Location of Nuclei: Telencephalon
CN I Olfactory – Injufry & Test
- Resulst in Anosmia - loss of sense of smell
- Facture of cribiform plate (CSF leakage)
- Tumor of frontal lobe or anterior meninges may compress olfactory bulb or tract
- Temporal lobe tumor
- Viral or allergic rhinitis
CN I Olfactory – Test
- Unilateral test that must be performed bilaterally
- Block one nostril + place something pungent under the other nostril (coffee). Ask the patient when they smell it.
CN II Optic
• Special Sensory
- *• Function:**
- Visual acuity
- Intactness of visual fields
• Surrounded by meninges and subarachnoid space (CSF)
• Optic Nerve: Formed by retinal ganglion cells that pierce the sclera dep tot he otpic disc
• Optic Chiasm:
Point where optic nerve axons from retinal ganglia cells int he nasal half of each retina decussate – for binocular vison
• Optic Tracts: Ipsilateral temporal retinal axon fibers and crossed contralateral nasal axon fibers
• Left and right tracts terminate in the corresponding lateral geniculate body of the thalamus and is relayed to visual cortices
• Enter: Optic Canal
• Location of Nuclei: Diencephalon
CN II Optic – Injury
Papilledema
- Edema of Papilla (optic disc)
- Caused by increased intracranial pressure (CSF pressure) surrounding optic nerve
- Pressure is placed on vein and prevents return of venous blood form retina
Optic Neuritis
- Inflammation due to exposure to toxic sustances
- Degenration
- De-myelinating Disorder
CN II Optic – Test
**Test: **
• with Snellen Chart • Placed 6 m away
• close one eye and read the smallest line they can make out
→ 1 miss is fine; 3-4 move up one line
CN III Occulomotor
• Motor
- *• Function:**
- Pupil constriction
- Upward / Downward / Medial gaze
- Eyelid elevation
- Somatic and Visceral Efferent
- Motor to 4 of 6 extra-occular eye striated muscles → Superior, medial, and inferiro rectus → Inferiror oblique
• Motor to upper eyelid (striated mm)
→ Levator palpebrae superioris
- Motor to sphincter of pupil, the smooth muscle of the iris (parasympathetic, visceral) → Constriction of pupil (smooth mm)
- Motor to ciliary muscles of lens → Produces accomodation of lens (smooth mm)
• Exit: Superior orbital fissure
• Location of Nuclei: brain stem
CN III Occulomotor – Eye Muscles
- Superior rectus - elevate + add
- Inferior rectus - depress + add
- Medial rectus - add
- Inferior obplique - elevate + add(no direct pull → coming from behind the eye, loops around → attaches to eye → elevates + add)
CN III Occulomotor – Injury
• Ptosis: drooping of upper eyelid
• No pupillary reflex
• Dialation of the pupil (interruption of Parasymp)
• Eyeball abducted and inferior
• Increased ICP (intercranial pressure) → Can compress CN III → Result: decreased / slow pupillary light reflex ipsilateral
• Aneurysm of PCA or SCA (post & sup cerebral arteries)
CN III Occulomotor – Test
Pupil constriction (direct & consensual)
• Shine a light in patients eye. Look to see if the pupil of the eye the light is shone in constricts; also look if the contralateral pupil constricts.
Eyelid elevation
- Look for symmetry of the eyelids
- Ptosis (droopy eyelid)
CN IV Trochlear
• Motor
• Function: ** ** Somatic Motor + proprioception to one extra-occular eye muscule → Superior Oblique (moves the eyeball inferiorly and laterally) → “Down + Out” (cute shoes)
- Travels the longest distance intercranially (subarachnoid)
- Smallest cranial nerve
- Only nerve to emerge dorsally (posterior surface) from the midbrain
- Exit: Superior Orbital Fissure
- Location of nuclei: Midbrain - exit from brain stem