cranial nerve

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

cra′nial nerve′, [Anat.]

1. Anatomy any of the nerves arising from the brainstem and exiting to the periphery of the head through skull openings, including 10 pairs in fish and amphibians and 12 pairs in reptiles, birds, and mammals: in humans, these are the abducens nerve, accessory nerve, auditory nerve, facial nerve, glossopharyngeal nerve, hypoglossal nerve, oculomotor nerve, olfactory nerve, optic nerve, trigeminal nerve, trochlear nerve, and vagus nerve.

• 1830–40

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

cranial nerve noun

1. any of the 12 paired nerves that have their origin in the brain and reach the periphery through natural openings in the skull