NEET PG DENTAL EXAM

Detailed explanation-1: -The Hypoglossal Nerve is the 12th Cranial Nerve (Cranial Nerve XII). It is mainly an efferent nerve for the tongue musculature. The nerve originates from the medulla and travels caudally and dorsally to the tongue.

Detailed explanation-2: -The hypoglossal nerve emerges as several rootlets (labelled here as number 12) from the olives of the medulla (labelled 13), part of the brainstem. The hypoglossal nerve leaves the skull through the hypoglossal canal, which is situated near the large opening for the spinal cord, the foramen magnum.

Detailed explanation-3: -The hypoglossal nerve leaves the brainstem through the anterolateral sulcus of the medulla oblongata. Its dozen roots pass across the posterior cranial fossa laterally before merging into the unique trunk of the nerve in the hypoglossal canal.