Introduction to twelve cranial nerves and their functions Cranial nerves directly arise from brain and are

conventionally numbered by roman numerals. Out of 12 pairs of cranial nerves, afferent nerves arise from motor nuclei with in brain and the efferent cranial nerves arise in sensor ganglion along the course of nerve, out side the brain. Twelve Types of Cranial Nerves and Functions Olfactory I: This sensory cranial nerve located in olfactory bulb of brain and has olfactory receptors for sense of smell. Optic Nerve II: This sensory cranial nerve leads from eyes to thalamus. It is responsible for sense of sight of retina. Oculomotor Nerve III: This motor nerve arise from midbrain and leads to eye muscles (including eyelids and lens) and pupil. This nerve is associated with eye movement and pupil constriction. Trochlear Nerve IV: This motor nerve arises from midbrain and leads to eye muscles. It works with oculomotor nerve to produce the eye movements. Trigeminal Nerve V: This cranial nerve, located in pons, has both sensory and motor nerve fibers. It leads to most of the face (including eyes and mouth) and carry somatosensory information to face, head and chewing muscles of jaws. Abducens Nerve VI: Another mixed cranial nerve, located in pons. This is associated with eye movement. Facial VII: This is mixed cranial nerve, located in pons. Facial nerve splits into several branches that control the muscles used for facial expressions (smiling, frowning etc). It also stimulates salivary glands to produce saliva. A branch of facial nerve carries taste sensation from the front 2/3 part of the tongue. The facial nerve comes out just below the ear and passes through the salivary gland. Part of facial nerves carries sensation from the outside of the ear. Vestibulocochlear VIII: This sensory cranial nerve leads from inner ear to pons and is associated with sense of hearing and balance. Glossopharyngeal IX: This is a mixed cranial nerve, located in medulla oblongata. This is sensory to posterior of throat (pharynx) and is associated with taste sensation from rest 1/3 part of tongue. This is also associated with gag reflexes. Vagus X: This is a sensory cranial nerve that leads from many visceral organs to medulla oblongata. It carries somatosensory information from organs of thoracic, abdominal cavity including heart and from that of gastrointestinal tract.

Spinal Accessory Nerve XI: This motor nerve arises from medulla oblongata and leads to muscles of neck, back and larynx. It controls the head movement. Hypoglossal Nerve XII: This motor nerve arises from medulla oblongata and controls the muscles of tongue. The spinal nerves spring from the medulla spinalis, and are transmitted through the intervertebral foramina. They number thirty-one pairs, which are grouped as follows: Cervical, 8; Thoracic, 12; Lumbar, 5; Sacral, 5; Coccygeal, 1. Division of the Spinal Cord The spinal cord can be divided into segments according to the nerve roots that branch off of it. Nerves along the cord consists of 8 cervical nerves, 12 thoracic nerves, 5 lumbar nerves, 5 sacral nerves, and 1 coccygeal nerve. The nerve roots run through the bony canal, and at each level a pair of nerve roots exits from the spine. Also known as: medulla oblongata, Bulbus, Medulla oblongata, Myelencephalonmedulla (ma duel' uh)

It is the caudal-most part of the brainstem and contains many sensory (ascending) and motor (descending) tracts. Thepyramid is an example of the latter. Structures that are linked with the cerebellum (e.g. olive) and part of the reticular formation are also in the medulla. Certain groups of neurons in the reticular formation controlrespiration, and the cranial nerve important for maintaining an open airway and controlling heart rate is located here. Thus, if the integrity of the medulla is compromised, vital functions are compromised and death often results. The medulla contains the cardiac, respiratory, vomiting and vasomotor centers and deals withautonomic, involuntary functions, such as breathing, heart rate and blood pressure. The brain is a complex organ. It controls and regulates everything your body does. The human brain is divided into sections. Each section is responsible for various functions such as breathing, speaking, vision and so forth. At the back bottom part of the brain is the brain stem. Within the brain stem is a structure called the medulla oblongata, which has some very important functions. Basic Functions The medulla oblongata is responsible for regulating your rate of breathing, your heart rate, blood pressure, circulation and digestive system activity. It controls when these activities start, when they stop and how fast they go. This area is also where your sleep cycles are regulated. Additional Functions This structure also plays a role in regulating muscle tone and movement. In addition, it houses nerves that carry sensory information from your internal organs to the brain. It is also responsible for initiating reflexes such as vomiting, swallowing, gagging, coughing, sneezing and hiccuping. Injuries If the medulla oblongata or the nerves that pass through it are injured or damaged, you may experience paralysis or loss of muscle coordination. You may lose your sense of touch, develop vertigo or have trouble swallowing. You may not be able to sense or detect pain and temperature changes. In this area the nerves cross sides, so if the right side of the medulla oblongata is injured then the symptoms will appear on the left side of the body.

Archaeology A comparatively young discipline only about 125 years old, scientific archaeology has delivered a spectacular amount of "hard evidence" from the ancient world that correlates admirably with information inside the Old and New Testaments. A whole series of articles would be possible on this theme alone. However, a brief listing must suffice, which is limited to discoveries relating directly to the life of Jesus. The existence of Nazareth in Jesus day had been doubted by criticsuntil its name showed up in a first-century synagogue inscription at Caesarea. Augustus census edicts (in connection with the Nativity) are borne out by an inscription at Ankara, Turkey, his famous Res Gestae ("Things Accomplished"), in which the Roman emperor proudly claims to have taken a census three times. That husbands had to register their families for the Roman census was mandated in census papyri discovered in Egypt. That Herod the Great ruled at the time Jesus was born is demonstrated by the numerous excavations of his massive public works in the Holy Lane, including the great Temple in Jerusalem. That his son Herod Antipas ruled Galilee is shown in similar digs at Sepphoris and Tiberias. Coins from these and the other Herodian rulers are a commonplace in coin collections. As for Jesus public ministry, the remains of the foundation of the synagogue at Capernaum where He taught still exist below the present ruins of the fourth-century synagogue there. The remains of Peters house at Capernaum, later converted into an octagonal Christian sanctuary, have been uncovered. The hull of a first-century boat that plied the waters of the Sea of Galilee in Jesus time was discovered in 1986, giving us new information on how Jesus could sleep through a storm during the famous episode of the Stilling of the Tempest (Mark 4:35ff.). Relating to Jesus final week in Jerusalem, an ancient flight of stairs down to the Brook Kidron has been excavated, doubtless used by Jesus and His disciples on the way to Gethsemane at the base of the Mount of Olives, where ancient olive trees still thrive. An inscription naming His judge on Good Friday, Pontius Pilate, was discovered at Caesarea in 1961. The very bones of the chief prosecutor at that trial, the high priest Joseph Caiaphas, came to light inside an ossuary (a stone chest used to store

bones from burial sites) uncovered in 1990, the first bones of a Biblical personality ever discovered. That they nailed victims to crosses, as in Jesus case, was proven when another ossuary was open north of Jerusalem in 1968, and a victims heel bones appeared, transfixed with a seven-inch iron spike. Burial in tombs closed up with rolling stone disks is more than apparent today in many such sepulchers in Judea and even Galilee. In addition, many of the sites in Jesus ministry, such as Bethsaida, Chorazin, Capernaum, Caesarea Philippi, Shechem, Bethany and, of course, Jerusalem are in process of excavation, promising even more archaeological discoveries relating to the life of Jesus. If the past is any precedent, almost all of these will confirm the New Testament accounts. The archaeological supports in the case of Jesus greatest follower, Paul of Tarsus, are especially impressive. Ruins in Cyprus, Galatia, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, Rome and elsewhere all bear out the many references about Paul in the New Testament. As hard evidence from the past, "the very stones cry out" the reliability of the Biblical record. It is amusing to note that many of the last centurys most trenchant critics of Jesus and the New Testament refused at first even to consider the result of archaeology, so counter to their opinions was its evidence! Today, I cant imagine anyone, friend or foe of the faith, would be stupid enough to hold so foolish an attitude. At the 2, 000th anniversary of Christianity, then, we should be ready to tell everyone that the sum total of the literary, historical and archaeological evidence from the ancient world dramatically supports the New Testament record on Jesus. Those who claim it does not are sadly misinformed, tragically closed-minded, or dishonest. Dr. Paul L. Maier is professor of Ancient History and chaplain at Western Michigan UniversityKalamazoo, MI. Reprinted with permission from The Lutheran Witness magazine (October, 1999).