First trick to remember 12 cranial nerves
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On Occassion Of Party The All Faces Are Girl Visitors Showing Hands
1 O Olfactory
2 O Optic
3 O Occulamotor
4 P Pathetic
5 T Trigeminal
6 A Abducence
7 F Facial
8 A Auditory
9 G Glossopharyngeal
10 V Vagus
11 S Spinal Accessory
12 H HypoglossalSecond trick to remember 12 cranial nerves
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Sometimes it is easier to recite a story in which a list of terms is embedded rather than memorize a list. For years, med students have been struggling to come up with a way of remembering the 12 cranial nerves, and I think this short story by Gordon Bower does the trick well.
"At the OIL FACTORY, the OPTICIAN looked for the OCCUPANT of the TRUCK. He was searching because 3 GEMS had been ABDUCTED by a man who was hiding his FACE and EARS. A GLOSSY PHOTOGRAPH has been taken of him, but it was too VAGUE to use. He appeared to be SPINELESS and HYPOCRITICAL."
Got them yet? In order, the oil factory is the olfactory nerve; the optician is the optical nerve; the occupant is the occulomotor nerve; the truck represents the trochlear nerve; the 3 gems are the trigeminal nerve; abducted is really the abducens; face is facial; ears really means auditory; glossy photograph is glosso-pharyngeal; spineless relates to the spinal accessory nerve; and hypocritical is the hypoglossal nerve
"At the OIL FACTORY, the OPTICIAN looked for the OCCUPANT of the TRUCK. He was searching because 3 GEMS had been ABDUCTED by a man who was hiding his FACE and EARS. A GLOSSY PHOTOGRAPH has been taken of him, but it was too VAGUE to use. He appeared to be SPINELESS and HYPOCRITICAL."
Got them yet? In order, the oil factory is the olfactory nerve; the optician is the optical nerve; the occupant is the occulomotor nerve; the truck represents the trochlear nerve; the 3 gems are the trigeminal nerve; abducted is really the abducens; face is facial; ears really means auditory; glossy photograph is glosso-pharyngeal; spineless relates to the spinal accessory nerve; and hypocritical is the hypoglossal nerve
