A cranial nerve nucleus is a collection of neurons (gray matter) in the brain stem that is associated with one or more cranial nerves. Drawing by Santiago Ramón y Cajal of cells in the pigeon cerebellum. ... Grey matter is a category of nervous tissue with many nerve cell bodies and few myelinated axons. ... The term brain stem refers to a composite substructure of the brain. ... Cranial nerves are nerves that emerge from the brainstem instead of the spinal cord. ...

There are several cranial nerve nuclei (roman numeral refers to the cranial nerve number):

• In medulla oblongata:
  • Hypoglossal nucleus (XII) - motor
  • Dorsal motor nucleus of vagus nerve (X) - visceromotor
  • Nucleus ambiguus (IX, X, XI) - motor
  • Solitary nucleus (VII, IX, X) - sensory
  • Spinal trigeminal nucleus (V) - sensory
  • Inferior olivary nucleus afferent fibres to cerebellum
• In pons
  • Cochlear nuclei (VII) - sensory
    • Dorsal cochlear nucleus
    • Ventral cochlear nucleus
  • Vestibular nuclei (VIII) - sensory
  • Salivary nuclei - visceromotor
    • Inferior salivary nucleus (IX)
    • Superior salivary nucleus (VII)
  • Facial nucleus (VII) - motor
  • Abducens nucleus (VI) - motor
  • Trigeminal motor nucleus (V) - motor
  • Spinal trigeminal nucleus (V) - sensory
• In the midbrain (mesencephalon)
  • Mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus (V) - sensory
  • Red nucleus - motor, extrapyramidal
  • Trochlear nucleus (IV) - motor
  • Oculomotor nucleus (III) - motor
  • Edinger-Westphal nucleus (III) - visceromotor

Position of medulla oblangata in the human brain The medulla oblongata is the lower portion of the brainstem. ... The hypoglossal nerve is the twelfth cranial nerve. ... The nucleus ambiguus is a cranial nerve nucleus, located in the medulla oblongata, and handles the branchial motor functions of the ninth (glossopharyngeal) and tenth (vagus) cranial nerves. ... The solitary nucleus and tract are structures in the brainstem that carry and receive visceral sensation and taste from the facial (VII), glossopharyngeal (IX), vagus (X) cranial nerves, as well as the cranial part of the accessory nerve (XI). ... In anatomy, the olivary bodies or simply olives (Latin oliva) are a pair of prominent oval structures in the medulla oblongata, the lower portion of the brainstem. ... Position of the pons in the human brain The pons (sometimes pons Varolii after Costanzo Varolio) is a knob on the brain stem. ... The abducens nucleus is the originating nucleus from which the abducens nerve emerges. ... In biological anatomy, the mesencephalon (or midbrain) is the middle of three vesicles that arise from the neural tube that forms the brain of developing animals. ... The red nucleus is a structure in the rostral midbrain involved in motor coordination. ... The oculomotor nerve () is the third of twelve paired cranial nerves. ... The Edinger-Westphal nucleus is the accessory parasympathetic nucleus of the oculomotor nerve, supplying the constricting muscles of the iris. ...

References

• Lennart Heimer, The Human Brain, ISBN 0-387-94227-0