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Nerve: Vestibulocochlear nerve
Gray789
The course and connections of the facial nerve in the temporal bone
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Latin '
Gray's subject #203
Innervates
From
To cochlear nerve, vestibular nerve
MeSH A08.800.800.120.910

The acoustic nerve (also known as the auditory nerve, cochlear nerve or vestibulocochlear nerve) is the eighth of twelve cranial nerves, and is responsible for transmitting sound and equilibrium (balance) information from the inner ear to the brain.

Structure

Cranial Nerves
CN 0 - Cranial nerve zero
CN I - Olfactory
CN II - Optic
CN III - Oculomotor
CN IV - Trochlear
CN V - Trigeminal
CN VI - Abducens
CN VII - Facial
CN VIII - Vestibulocochlear
CN IX - Glossopharyngeal
CN X - Vagus
CN XI - Accessory
CN XII - Hypoglossal

This nerve, along which the sensory cells (the hair cells) of the inner ear transmit information to the brain. It consists of the cochlear nerve, carrying information about hearing, and the vestibular nerve, carrying information about balance. It emerges from the medulla oblongata and enters the inner skull via the internal acoustic meatus (or internal auditory meatus) in the temporal bone, along with the facial nerve.

Functions

The eighth cranial nerve has two prime roles. It is needed to convey information of vestibular sensation - that is, the position and movement of the head. Secondly, it is used for hearing.

Innervations

The nerve splits into two large divisions - the cochlear nerve and the vestibular nerve. Broadly speaking, the cochlear nerve innervates the cochlea, while the vestibular nerve goes to the vestibular apparatus.

Physiology

How hearing information is coded on the nerve has long been a matter of scientific debate between two competing theories, a place theory and a rate theory.

Name

Some older texts call the nerve the acoustic or auditory nerve [1], but these terms have fallen out of widespread use because they fail to recognize the nerve's role in the vestibular system. Vestibulocochlear nerve is therefore preferred by most.


Additional images

External links


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