Nature and Uses of Primary Data Sources Page 1 of 14 ______________________________________________________________________.
cranial nerve - any of the 12 paired nerves that originate in the brain stem. 1  nerve, nervus - any bundle of nerve fibers running to various organs and tissues of the body. 2  first cranial nerve, nervii olfactorii, olfactory nerve - a collective term for numerous olfactory filaments in the nasal mucosa.
Cranial nerve. Cranial nerve, in vertebrates, any of the paired nerves of the peripheral nervous system that connect the muscles and sense organs of the head and thoracic region directly to the brain.