Acronym Mnemonics For Remembering 12 Cranial Nerves

Acronym/Mnemonics For Remembering 12 Cranial Nerves

One simple way to learn the cranial nerves and their functions is to assign them a mnemonic to help you remember which terms are placed where.

Cranial Nerves Assessment Cheat Sheet for Nursing

Cranial Nerves and their functions
The cranial nerves are the 12 pairs of nerves that leave the brain via their own individual apertures in the skull.

List of the Cranial Nerves

I Olfactory (Smell)
II Optic (Sight)
III Oculomotor (Moves eyelid and eyeball and adjusts the pupil and lens of the eye)
IV Trochlear (Moves eyeballs)
V Trigeminal (Facial muscles incl. chewing; Facial sensations)
VI Abducens (Moves eyeballs)
VII Facial (Taste, tears, saliva, facial expressions)
VIII Vestibulocochlear (Auditory)
IX Glossopharyngeal (Swallowing, saliva, taste)
X Vagus (Control of PNS e.g. smooth muscles of GI tract)
XI Accessory (Moving head & shoulders, swallowing)
XII Hypoglossal (Tongue muscles – speech & swallowing)