Cranial Nerve Assessment Made Easy: How to Test All 12 (What to Say + Mnemonic)

Cranial nerve assessment made easy for nursing students, skills check-offs, and NCLEX review. We test all 12 cranial nerves in the order you'd actually do them at the bedside, six stops from the top of the head down, with exactly what to say to the patient, what normal looks like, and the red flags to report. Plus two clean mnemonics for the names and for sensory, motor, or both. QUICK ANSWERS • How do you test the 12 cranial nerves? Six stops, top to bottom. Nose: CN I, identify a smell with eyes closed. Eyes: CN II, Snellen chart and visual fields; CN III, IV, VI, pupils (PERRLA) and following a penlight in an H pattern. Face: CN V, light touch with cotton and clench the teeth; CN VII, raise eyebrows, close eyes tight, smile, puff cheeks. Ears: CN VIII, whisper test. Mouth: CN IX and X, say "ah" and watch the uvula rise; CN XII, stick out the tongue. Neck: CN XI, shrug and turn the head against resistance. • What is the mnemonic for the 12 cranial nerves in order? "Old Opie Occasionally Tries Trigonometry And Feels Very Gloomy, Vague, And Hypoactive": olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, vestibulocochlear, glossopharyngeal, vagus, accessory, hypoglossal. The first two letters keep the three O nerves apart. • Which cranial nerves are sensory, motor, or both? "Some Say Marry Money, But My Brother Says Big Brains Matter Most." Sensory only: I, II, VIII. Motor only: III, IV, VI, XI, XII. Both: V, VII, IX, X. • Which cranial nerves move the eyes? III, IV, and VI. The lateral rectus (looking out toward the ear) is CN VI, the superior oblique (looking down and in) is CN IV, and CN III does the rest, plus pupil constriction and lifting the eyelid. Short version: LR6, SO4, the rest are 3. • What does PERRLA mean? Pupils equal, round, reactive to light and accommodation. • Which way does the tongue deviate with a CN XII problem? Toward the weak side. • Which cranial nerve findings should a nurse report right away? A new facial droop (check arm weakness and speech: possible stroke), a new unequal, slow, or fixed pupil, especially with a change in level of consciousness, and new trouble swallowing (after a stroke, a bedside swallow screen comes before any food, fluids, or meds by mouth). Comment the cranial nerve you always mix up. We read them. PRACTICE NCLEX QUESTIONS IN NURSELINGO NurseLingo on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nurseli... Free NCLEX games: https://nurselingo.app/arcade Website: https://nurselingo.app MORE NCLEX REVIEW Head to Toe Assessment:    • Head to Toe Assessment Nursing | Full Chec...   Vital Signs:    • Vital Signs Nursing | Full Check-Off in 9 ...   CHAPTERS 0:00 Cranial nerve assessment check-off 0:23 The 6-stop cranial nerve exam order 0:52 12 cranial nerves mnemonic (names in order) 1:22 CN I olfactory: smell test 1:44 CN II optic: Snellen chart and visual fields 4:01 CN V trigeminal: face sensation and jaw 5:12 CN VIII vestibulocochlear: whisper test 5:48 CN IX and X: say ah, gag, swallow 6:33 CN XI accessory: shrug and head turn 6:57 The whole cranial nerve check-off, out loud 7:26 Sensory, motor, or both mnemonic 7:55 NCLEX practice questions: cranial nerves 9:12 Recap: normal findings vs red flags SOURCES OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills, 26.2 Physical Assessment (cranial nerve assessment tables): https://openstax.org/books/clinical-n... OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills, 22.2 Eyes: https://openstax.org/books/clinical-n... OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills, 22.4 Mouth, Throat, Nose, and Sinuses: https://openstax.org/books/clinical-n... OpenStax Fundamentals of Nursing, 23.1 Foundations of Neuromuscular Functioning: https://openstax.org/books/fundamenta... OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, 16.3 The Cranial Nerve Exam: https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-an... Open RN Nursing Skills 2e, 6.5 Assessing Cranial Nerves: https://wtcs.pressbooks.pub/nursingsk... Introduction to Health Assessment for the Nursing Professional, CN III, IV, and VI: https://pressbooks.library.torontomu.... American Stroke Association, Stroke Symptoms (F.A.S.T.): https://www.stroke.org/en/about-strok... American Family Physician, Bell's Palsy: Diagnosis and Management: https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/... Practice questions are from the NurseLingo question bank. Educational review for nursing students, not medical advice. NurseLingo is not affiliated with NCSBN. #NCLEX #NursingStudent #CranialNerves