Cranial Nerves Mnemonic: Names and Function
Cranial nerves made easy! Mnemonics and tricks to remember the cranial nerves of the brain in order, their names, and their function!
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Cranial Nerve Names (I-XII)
The cranial nerves are nerves that arise directly from the brain.
There are 12 pairs of cranial nerves, and their names and functions can be tough to memorize.
Well….that is until now!
In this post, you will learn several mnemonics and tricks to remember the cranial nerves of the brain, including their names and function!
On top of that, you will learn tricks to remember the cranial nerves that start with the same letter.
The 12 pairs of cranial nerves include:
Olfactory Nerve (CN I)
Optic Nerve (CN II)
Oculomotor Nerve (CN III)
Trochlear Nerve (CN IV)
Trigeminal Nerve (CN V)
Abducens Nerve (CN VI)
Facial Nerve (CN VII)
Vestibulocochlear Nerve (CN VIII)
Glossopharyngeal Nerve (CN IX)
Vagus Nerve (CN X)
Accessory Nerve (XI)
Hypoglossal Nerve (XII)
Let’s get right into how to memorize them!
Cranial Nerves: There are 12 pairs of cranial nerves labeled in order above
Cranial Nerves Mnemonic # 1
The first mnemonic is to help you remember the names of the cranial nerves in order.
The mnemonic is:
“Only One Of The Two Athletes Felt Very Good, Victorious, And Healthy”
This will help you remember the following:
Only = Olfactory (CN I)
One = Optic (CN II)
Of = Oculomotor (CN III)
The = Trochlear (CN IV)
Two = Trigeminal (CN V)
Athletes = Abducens (CN VI)
Felt = Facial (CN VII)
Very = Vestibulocochlear (CN VIII)
Good = Glossopharyngeal (CN IX)
Victorious = Vagus (CN X)
And = Accessory (XI)
Healthy = Hypoglossal (XII)
Write this mnemonic down, repeat it several times, and you will soon have it committed to memory.
You may have noticed some of the cranial nerves start with the same letter, so how do you know which one to use in the mnemonic?
Make sure to read on because there are tricks to help you with this too!
Cranial Nerves Mnemonic: Use the mnemonic above to remember the names of the cranial nerves in order
Cranial Nerves Mnemonic # 2
The second mnemonic is to help you remember the functions of the cranial nerves.
Cranial nerves are sensory, motor, or both.
The words starting with “S” in the mnemonic indicate a sensory cranial nerve.
The words starting with “M” indicate a motor cranial nerve.
The words starting with “B” indicate cranial nerves with both sensory and motor components.
The mnemonic is:
“Some Say Marry Money, But My Brother Says Big Brains Matter Most”
This will help you remember the following:
Some = Olfactory (Sensory)
Say = Optic (Sensory)
Marry = Oculomotor (Motor)
Money = Trochlear (Motor)
But = Trigeminal (Both)
My = Abducens (Motor)
Brother = Facial (Both)
Says = Vestibulocochlear (Sensory)
Big = Glossopharyngeal (Both)
Brains = Vagus (Both)
Matter = Accessory (Motor)
Most = Hypoglossal (Motor)
Just like the first mnemonic, write this one down and repeat it several times to commit it to memory.
Cranial Nerves Mnemonic: Use the mnemonic above to remember the cranial nerve functions and whether they are sensory (S), motor (M), or both (B).
Bringing it All Together…
If you write down both mnemonics next to each other, then you will have the names and functions of each cranial nerve as shown.
Names: “Only One Of The Two Athletes Felt Very Good, Victorious, And Healthy”
Functions: “Some Say Marry Money, But My Brother Says Big Brains Matter Most”
Only (Some) = Olfactory (Sensory)
One (Say) = Optic (Sensory)
Of (Marry) = Oculomotor (Motor)
The (Money) = Trochlear (Motor)
Two (But) = Trigeminal (Both)
Athletes (My) = Abducens (Motor)
Felt (Brother) = Facial (Both)
Very (Says) = Vestibulocochlear (Sensory)
Good (Big) = Glossopharyngeal (Both)
Victorious (Brains) = Vagus (Both)
And (Matter) = Accessory (Motor)
Healthy (Most) = Hypoglossal (Motor)
Cranial Nerves Mnemonic: Line up both mnemonics to remember the names and functions of each cranial nerve
Cranial Nerve Tricks
Now let’s go over some tricks to remember the cranial nerves that start with the same letter.
As mentioned above, some of the cranial nerves share a common first letter.
The mnemonic to remember the names of the cranial nerves is helpful, but how do you know which cranial nerve to use when more than one cranial nerve starts with that letter?
Here are some tricks to help you with this!
Cranial Nerves: Some cranial nerves share the same first letter, so how do you know which ones to use in the mnemonic? Use the tricks below!
Cranial Nerves Starting with “O”
Let’s begin with the cranial nerves that start with the letter “O”.
This includes:
Olfactory Nerve (CN I)
Optic Nerve (CN II)
Oculomotor Nerve (CN III)
Olfactory: 1 Nose = CN I
The olfactory nerve deals with the sense of smell, and we only have 1 nose.
So you can remember the olfactory nerve is CN I because we have 1 nose.
Optic: 2 Eyes = CN II
The optic nerve deals with the sense of vision, and we have 2 eyes.
So you can remember the optic nerve is CN II because we have 2 eyes.
Oculomotor: “Motor” = CN III
The oculomotor nerve contains the word “motor”.
We know from the mnemonic that CN III is the only motor cranial nerve among CNs I, II, and III.
Remember CN I and CN II are sensory.
So you can remember the oculomotor nerve is CN III because it contains the word “motor”, and it is the only motor nerve of those three.
Cranial Nerves: Remember the cranial nerves starting with “O” using the tricks above. Olfactory (CN I) deals with smell (1 Nose). Optic (CN II) deals with vision (2 eyes). Oculomotor (CN III) contains the word motor and CN III is motor (CN I and II = Sensory)
Cranial Nerves Starting with “T”
Let’s move on to the cranial nerves that start with the letter “T”.
This includes:
Trochlear Nerve (IV)
Trigeminal Nerve (V)
Trochlear: “O” in Trochlear and Four
For the trochlear nerve, use the “O” in trochlear and the “O” in four to remember the trochlear nerve is CN IV.
Trigeminal “I” in Trigeminal and Five
For the trigeminal nerve, use the “I” in trigeminal and the “I” in five to remember the trigeminal nerve is CN V.
Cranial Nerves: Remember the cranial nerves starting with “T” using the tricks above. Use the “O” in trochlear and four to remember the trochlear nerve is CN IV. Use the “I” in trigeminal and five to remember the trigeminal nerve is CN V.
Cranial Nerves Starting with “A”
Let’s move on to the cranial nerves that start with the letter “A”.
This includes:
Abducens Nerve (CN VI)
Accessory Nerve (CN XI)
Abducens: “Abdusix” = CN VI
Say “abdusix” instead of “abducens” to help you remember the abducens nerve is CN VI.
Accessory: Accessory = 11 (Pairs)
For the accessory nerve, you will notice the word “aCCeSSory” has 2 pairs of letters (2 Cs and 2 Ss) and the number 11 contains a pair of 1s.
So this can help you remember the accessory nerve is CN XI.
Cranial Nerves: Remember the cranial nerves starting with “A” using the tricks above. Say “abdusix” instead of “abducens” to remember the abducens nerve is CN VI. Use the pair of letters in accessory and pair of 1s in 11 to remember the accessory is CN XI.
Cranial Nerves Starting with “V”
Finally, we have the cranial nerves that start with the letter “V”.
This includes:
Vestibulocochlear Nerve (CN VIII)
Vagus Nerve (CN X)
Vestibulocochlear: Ear/Equilibrium = Eight (CN VIII)
The vestibulocochlear nerve deals with hearing (ear) and equilibrium.
Ear, Equilibrium, and Eight all start with the letter “E”, and this will help you remember the vestibulocochlear nerve is CN VIII.
Vagus: Thorax/Tummy = Ten (CN X)
The vagus nerve mainly innervates organs in the thorax and abdomen (tummy).
Thorax, Tummy, and Ten all start with the letter “T”, and this will help you remember the vagus nerve is CN X.
Cranial Nerves: Remember the cranial nerves starting with “V” using the tricks above. Vestibulocochlear deals with the Ear (hearing) and Equilibrium, which start with “E” to remember CN VIII. Vagus innervates organs mainly in the Thorax and Tummy (abdomen), which start with “T” to remember CN X
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Referenceshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470353/