Functional components
Cranial nerve	Motor (= supplying skeletal muscle)	Preganglionic parasympathetic²	General sensory (skin, mucous membranes)	Special senses
I     Olfactory				Smell
II    Optic				Vision
III   Oculomotor	Eye movements other than those mediated by IV & VI. Elevation of upper eyelid	Constriction of pupil (ciliary ganglion)
IV    Trochlear	Certain downward eye movements
V     Trigeminal	Muscles that open and close the mouth; tensor tympani muscle of middle ear	Skin of face; mouth, teeth, nose, sinuses, dura mater of anterior and middle fossa
VI    Abducens	Abduction of eye
VII   Facial	Muscles of face; stapedius muscle of middle ear	Lacrimal and nasal glands (pterygopalatine ganglion); sublingual & submandibular salivary glands (submandibular ganglion)	Part of external ear and tympanic membrane	Taste: palate & anterior two thirds of tongue
VIII  Vestibulocochlear:     Vestibular     Cochlear				Equilibration Hearing
IX    Glossopharyngeal	Stylopharyngeus muscle	Parotid gland (otic ganglion)	Pharynx, middle ear, posterior third of tongue	Taste: posterior third of tongue
X     Vagus	Muscles of larynx & pharynx	Slows heart (cardiac ganglia); increases gastric acid secretion and empties stomach (enteric nervous system)	Larynx, trachea, oesophagus, dura of posterior fossa; part of external ear and tympanic membrane	Taste: epiglottis
XI    Accessory³ (Spinal component)	Trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles
XII   Hypoglossal	Muscles that move the tongue

Footnotes to Table 7

¹ Afferent fibers in IX and X are of great importance for regulation of cardiovascular and respiratory function, but they do not give rise to conscious sensations, and the physiological functions are not usually disturbed by unilateral lesions that affect the nerves or their central connections.

² The names of the parasympathetic ganglia are indicated in parentheses after the functions.

³ The small cranial root of XI carries motor axons destined mostly for the larynx. These cross over into X by way of a communicating branch, as the two nerves pass through the jugular foramen in the base of the skull. The fibers of the spinal root have their cell bodies in segments C1-C5 of the spinal cord.