Cranial nerves Flashcards
What are cranial nerves?
PNS components that connect directly to the brain instead of the spinal cord
What do the numbers of cranial nerves correspond to?
The level they emerge from the brain
1. low numbers = most anterior
2. high numbers = most posterior
What is the special sensory for the olfactory nerve?
Smell
What type of fibres are in the olfactory nerves?
sensory only
What is cranial nerve I
The olfactory nerves
What is the origin of the olfactory nerves?
Receptors of the olfactory epithelium
What do the olfactory nerves pass through?
Cribiform plate of the ethmoid bone
What is the destination of the olfactory nerves?
Olfactory bulbs
What is the pathway of the olfactory nerve?
- Axons from special sensory neurons collect to form around 20 bundles that penetrate the cribiform plate
- olfactory afferents synapse in the olfactory bulb
- axon of post-synaptic neurons proceed to cerebrum as olfactory tracts, running along the underside of the frontal lobe
What happens if the olfactory nerve is damaged?
Loss of sense of smell (anosmia)
Is olfactory innervation ipsilateral or contralateral?
ipsilateral - information is processed by the olfactory bulb on the same side as the nostril detecting the stimulus
What is the clinical test for the olfactory nerve (CNI)?
Hold a strong smelling substance under each nostril
What is cranial nerve II?
The optic nerves
What is the special sensory of the optic nerve?
vision
What are the nerve fibres in the optic nerve?
sensory
What is the origin of the optic nerve?
Retina of eye
What does the optic nerve pass through?
optic canals of sphenoid bone
What is the destination of the optic nerves?
Diencephalon via the optic chiasm
Which side of the visual field hit the nasal part of the retina?
The temporal visual field
Which side of the retina field do images from the nasal visual field hit?
The temporal part of the retina
Where do the optic nerves converge?
At the anterior margin of the diencephalon at the optic chiasma
Where do axons from the temporal visual field cross?
At the chiasma
Where do axons from the nasal visual fields cross?
They remain uncrossed
Which axons diverge from the optic tract and why?
The retinotectal axons go to the midbrain for reflex activity of the eye
Where do most optic nerve axons synapse?
In the lateral geniculate nuclei of the thalamus, where they continue as optic radiation to the visual cortex
What happens if there is damage to the optic nerve before it reaches the chiasma?
Blindness in the same eye
What happens if there is damage at the optic chiama?
Bitemporal hemianopia (loss of temporal fields)
What happens if there is damage to the optic tract/ radiation?
Complex visual losses
What are the clinical tests for visual loss?
- Snellen charts
- Test visual fields in 4 quadrants of each eye
What is cranial nerve III?
The occulomotor nerve
What is cranial nerve IV?
The trochlear nerve
What is cranial nerve VI?
The abducens nerve
What do CN III, IV and VI do?
Motor nerves to the extraoccular muscles of the eye
What does cranial nerve III also do?
carries parasympathetic axons supplying pupillary constrictor muscles and ciliary muscles involved in eye reflexes
What types of nerve fibres are carried by the occulomotor nerve?
motor, and autonomic motor
What is the action of the superior rectus?
To pull the eye up and towards the nose
What is the action of the medial rectus?
Pull the eye towards the nose
What is the action of the superior oblique?
pull the eye down and away from the nose and roll it slightly out
What is the action of the inferior rectus?
To pull the eye down and towards the nose
What is the action of the lateral rectus?
To pull the eye away from the nose
What is the action of the inferior oblique?
Pulls the eye up and away from the nose and roll it slightly out
What muscles do the oculomotor nerve supply?
Superior, medial, and inferior rectus, inferior oblique, constrictor and ciliary muscles