Vestibulocochlear nerve or cranial nerve VIII

View Related Images

Description:

The vestibulocochlear nerve is a sensory cranial nerve and has two branches, the vestibular branch and the cochlear branch. The vestibular branch carries impulses for equilibrium and the cochlear branch carries impulses for hearing. Sensory axons in the vestibular branch extend from the semicircular canals, the saccule, and the utricle of the inner ear to the vestibular ganglion where their cell bodies are located, and end in vestibular nuclei in the pons. Some sensory axons also enter the cerebellum via the inferior cerebellar peduncle. Sensory axons in the cochlear branch arise in the spiral organ in the cochlea of the internal ear. The cell bodies of cochlear branch sensory neurons are located in the spiral ganglion of the cochlea. From there, axons extend to nuclei in the medulla oblongata.