Head & neck chart
Untimed · pick a level and fill the table from memory.
The cranial nerves — foramen, components, targets
Fourteen rows, the trigeminal counted by division. Components use the same five labels as the peripheral nervous system chart (GSA, GVA, SA, GSE, GVEp); here GSE also covers the branchial-arch muscles, which the seven-component scheme calls SVE. A nerve that passes through two openings lists both, in the order it meets them.
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Foramen
Cribriform plate of the ethmoid
Functional components
SA
Main targets
Smell (olfactory mucosa of the nasal roof)
Foramen
Optic canal
Functional components
SA
Main targets
Vision (retina)
Foramen
Superior orbital fissure
Functional components
GSE, GVEp
Main targets
Four eye muscles (SR, IR, MR, IO), levator; sphincter pupillae, ciliary muscle
Foramen
Superior orbital fissure
Functional components
GSE
Main targets
Superior oblique
Foramen
Superior orbital fissure
Functional components
GSA
Main targets
Forehead, upper eyelid, nose bridge; cornea; upper nasal cavity
Foramen
Foramen rotundum
Functional components
GSA
Main targets
Cheek, lower eyelid, upper lip; upper teeth; palate and nasal cavity
Foramen
Foramen ovale
Functional components
GSA, GSE
Main targets
Lower lip, chin, lower teeth; anterior tongue (touch); muscles of mastication
Foramen
Superior orbital fissure
Functional components
GSE
Main targets
Lateral rectus
Foramen
Internal acoustic meatus → stylomastoid foramen
Functional components
GSA, SA, GSE, GVEp
Main targets
Facial muscles; anterior-tongue taste; lacrimal, submandibular, sublingual glands
Foramen
Internal acoustic meatus
Functional components
SA
Main targets
Hearing (cochlea) and balance (vestibule and semicircular canals)
Foramen
Jugular foramen
Functional components
GSA, GVA, SA, GSE, GVEp
Main targets
Stylopharyngeus; parotid; posterior tongue (taste, sensation); carotid sinus, body
Foramen
Jugular foramen
Functional components
GSA, GVA, SA, GSE, GVEp
Main targets
Palate, pharynx, larynx muscles; laryngeal sensation; chest and abdominal viscera
Foramen
Foramen magnum → jugular foramen
Functional components
GSE
Main targets
Sternocleidomastoid and trapezius
Foramen
Hypoglossal canal
Functional components
GSE
Main targets
Intrinsic and extrinsic tongue muscles (except palatoglossus)
Checked cell by cell against 17 sources · reviewed 2026-10 · StatPearls — Neuroanatomy, Cranial Nerve
The parasympathetic ganglia of the head
Four relays, each fed presynaptic fibers by CN III, VII or IX and slung from a branch of the trigeminal — whose branches then carry the postsynaptic fibers, with the sympathetics, on to the target.
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Presynaptic source
CN III
Trigeminal branch
Nasociliary nerve (V1)
Location
Orbit, between the optic nerve and lateral rectus
Targets
Sphincter pupillae and ciliary muscle (via the short ciliary nerves)
Presynaptic source
CN VII, via the greater petrosal nerve
Trigeminal branch
Maxillary nerve (V2)
Location
Pterygopalatine fossa
Targets
Lacrimal gland; nasal, palatine and pharyngeal glands
Presynaptic source
CN VII, via the chorda tympani
Trigeminal branch
Lingual nerve (V3)
Location
Floor of the mouth, on hyoglossus
Targets
Submandibular and sublingual glands
Presynaptic source
CN IX, via the lesser petrosal nerve
Trigeminal branch
Mandibular nerve (V3)
Location
Infratemporal fossa, just below foramen ovale
Targets
Parotid gland (via the auriculotemporal nerve)
Checked cell by cell against 7 sources · reviewed 2026-10 · StatPearls — Ciliary Ganglion
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