Understanding Human Cranial Nerves through a Patterned Based Comparative Approach

Abstract

Learning the cranial nerves is a rigorous challenge encountered by first year medical students. Not only must they learn and remember the names, numbers, modalities, pathways, and nuclei of the twelve cranial nerves, in addition they must understand the clinical significance and clinical implications of these complex cranial structures. Educational studies have demonstrated that incorporating patterns as a basis to learning enhances the learning process and improves retention of the learned material. Understanding simple patterns, especially if the patterns are anatomically based, can greatly reduce the learning curve associated with learning complex anatomical topics — like the cranial nerves. Using comparative and developmental anatomy, clear, simple patterns are established to illustrate that cranial nerves are similar to their simpler spinal nerve counterparts. Understanding these patterns takes the random memorization out of the learning process and introduces a logic that brings a deeper meaning to the organization and structure of the cranial nerves. With this logic the learning process becomes easier and more memorable. With improved learning comes improved application in a clinical setting, which should be the ultimate goal.Grant Funding Source: Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy