The cephalic nerves: Suggestions

The BNA term ‘cerebral’ as applied to the nerves of the head is a misnomer. There are only four cerebral nerves proper, although the nerve of taste may have cerebral terminals. Hardesty, in the anatomy of Morris, returned to the use of the old term ‘cranial’ in preference to ‘cerebral’ and rightly so, because the nerves distributed in the head do pass through openings in the base of the skull, and but four of them are attached to the cerebrum. No author or publisher of a text-book of anatomy has yet been brave enough to replace the twelve pairs of cranial nerves with the nerves as they really exist. The time is propitious for some alteration because of the gross errors and apparent complexity that exist in an attempt to conform recent discoveries with old fashioned notions. For instance, there are not two olfactory nerves but about forty, the olfactory bulb and tract being not a nerve but an outgrowth of the brain. Likewise, the optic nerve is not a nerve but another outgrowth of the brain: There is a retina which is a modified cerebral cortex, an association tract and a decussation, but no nerve proper. The first and second pairs of cranial nerves should therefore be described with the olfactory apparatus and the optic apparatus. The tenth and eleventh cranial nerves should not be considered with the nerves of the head, because they are distributed to the neck, shoulder and trunk, and form an intermediate stage between the cervical spinal nerves and cranial (why not cephalic?) nerves. Omitting these four pairs Furthermore, the cranial nerves need a reclassification.