Cranial nerve nuclei
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The cranial nerve nuclei are a series of bilateral grey matter motor and sensory nuclei located in the midbrain, pons and medulla that are the collections of afferent and efferent cell bodies for many of the cranial nerves.
Some nuclei are small and contribute to a single cranial nerve, such as some of th motor nuclei. Other nuclei, however, are long and span several regions of the brainstem contributing to several cranial nerves. Several motor and sensory nuclei form longitudinal columns in the brainstem, leading to some authors describing them as single discontinuous longitudinal nuclear columns rather than the more numerous individual separate nuclei. Three long discontinuous efferent columns have been described: somatic, brachiomotor and parasympathetic.
Extensive interconnections exist between many of these nuclei, as well as with other brainstem nuclei and white matter tracts such as the medial lemniscus and medial longitudinal fasciculus.
Nuclei
- oculomotor nucleus: somatic motor nucleus for the oculomotor nerve
- Edinger-Westphal nucleus: general visceral motor (parasympathetic) nucleus for the oculomotor nerve,
- trochlear nucleus: somatic motor nucleus for the trochlear nerve
- motor nucleus of CN V: somatic motor nucleus for the trigeminal nerve
- mesencephalic nucleus of CN V: somatic sensory nucleus for the trigeminal nerve
- main sensory nucleus of CN V: somatic sensory nucleus for the trigeminal, facial, glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves
- spinal nucleus of CN V: somatic sensory nucleus for the trigeminal nerve
- abducent nucleus: somatic motor nucleus for the abducens nerve
- facial nucleus: special visceral motor (branchial) nucleus for the facial nerve
- superior salivatory nucleus: general visceral motor (parasympathetic) nucleus for the facial nerve
- cochlear nuclei: group of two special sensory nuclei for the cochlear branch of the vestibulocochlear nerve
- vestibular nuclei: group of four special sensory nuclei for the superior and inferior vestibular branches of the vestibulocochlear nerve
- inferior salivatory nucleus: general visceral motor (parasympathetic) nucleus for the glossopharyngeal nerve
- solitary tract nucleus: special visceral sensory nucleus for the facial, glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves
- ambiguus nucleus: special visceral motor (branchial) nucleus for the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves
- dorsal motor nucleus: general visceral motor (parasympathetic) nucleus for the vagus nerve
- hypoglossal nucleus: somatic motor nucleus for the hypoglossal nerve
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