any of the 12 paired nerves that arise from the lower surface of the brain with one of each pair on each side passing through openings in the skull to the periphery of the body; olfactory (I), optic (II), oculomotor (III), trochlear (IV), trigeminal (V)—including ophthalmic (V1), maxillary (V2), and mandibular (V3)— abducens (VI), facial (VII), vestibulocochlear (VIII), glossopharyngeal (IX), and vagus (X)

any of the 12 paired nerves that originate in the brain stem

a nerve arising directly from the brain and passing through one of the holes in the skull

any one of twelve nerves, which are numbered, originating in the brain or brainstem and conveying information to or from structures in the head, neck, shoulders, or internal organs; the facial nerve is the seventh cranial nerve and the vestibulocochlear nerve is the eighth cranial nerve.

One of the 12 pairs of nerves that go from the brain to other parts of the head. Those that affect the eyes and vision are the second cranial nerve (optic nerve), third (oculomotor), fourth (troclear), sixth (abducens) and seventh (facial). The optic nerve carries stimuli from the rods and cones to the brain. The third, fourth and sixth cranial nerves work with the eye muscles to control eye movement. The seventh cranial nerve works with the facial muscles to control facial movement (specifically the closure of the eyelids).

one of 12 pairs of nerves that originate in the brain as opposed to the spinal cord