Editing Cranial nerves (section)

===Terminology===

Cranial nerves are generally named according to their structure or function. For example, the olfactory nerve (I) supplies smell, and the facial nerve (VII) supplies the muscles of the face. Because [[Latin]] was the ''[[lingua franca]]'' of the study of [[anatomy]] when the nerves were first documented, recorded, and discussed, many nerves maintain Latin or [[Greek language|Greek]] names, including the trochlear nerve (IV), named according to its structure, as it supplies a muscle that attaches to a pulley ({{langx|el|trochlea}}). The trigeminal nerve (V) is named in accordance with its three components ({{langx|la|trigeminus}} meaning [[wikt:triplet|triplet]]s),<ref>{{cite web|last=Harper|first=Douglas|title=Trigeminal Nerve|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=trigeminalnerve|work=Online Etymology Dictionary|access-date=2 May 2014}}</ref> and the vagus nerve (X) is named for its wandering course ({{langx|la|vagus}}).<ref name=Davis2014 />

Cranial nerves are numbered based on their position from front to back ([[anatomical terminology#skull and brain|rostral-caudal]]) of their position on the brain,<ref name=Marieb>{{cite book|last=Mallatt|first=Elaine N. Marieb, Patricia Brady Wilhelm, Jon|title=Human anatomy|year=2012|publisher=Benjamin Cummings|location=Boston|isbn=978-0-321-75327-4|pages=431–432|edition=6th ed. media update.}}</ref> as, when viewing the forebrain and brainstem from below, they are often visible in their numeric order. For example, the olfactory nerves (I) and optic nerves (II) arise from the base of the [[forebrain]], and the other nerves, III to XII, arise from the brainstem.<ref name=Marieb/>

Cranial nerves have paths within and outside the [[Human Skull|skull]]. The paths within the skull are called "intracranial" and the paths outside the skull are called "extracranial". There are many holes in the skull called "foramina" by which the nerves can exit the skull. All cranial nerves are ''paired'', which means they occur on both the right and left sides of the body. The muscle, skin, or additional function supplied by a nerve, on the same side of the body as the side it originates from, is an ''ipsilateral'' function. If the function is on the opposite side to the origin of the nerve, this is known as a ''contralateral'' function.<ref>{{cite book|last1 = Albert|first1=Daniel|title=Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary.|date=2012|publisher=Saunders/Elsevier|location=Philadelphia, PA|isbn=978-1-4160-6257-8|edition=32nd}}</ref>