Hypoglossal nucleus

Hypoglossal nucleus
Section of the medulla oblongata at about the middle of the olive. (Hypoglossal nucleus visible top left.)
The cranial nerve nuclei schematically represented; dorsal view. Motor nuclei in red; sensory in blue. (XII labeled at bottom left.)
Details
Latin	nucleus nervi hypoglossi
Identifiers
NeuroNames	hier-754
NeuroLex ID	Hypoglossal nucleus
Dorlands /Elsevier	n_11/12581974
TA
TH	{{#property:P1694}}
TE	{{#property:P1693}}
FMA	{{#property:P1402}}
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy [[[d:|edit on Wikidata]]]

The hypoglossal nucleus is a cranial nerve nucleus, and it extends the length of the medulla, and being a motor nucleus, is close to the midline. In the open medulla, it is visible as what is known as the hypoglossal trigone, a raised area (medial to the vagal trigone) protruding slightly into the fourth ventricle.

In the closed medulla, the gracile and cuneate nuclei lie posteriorly, which means the nucleus is not as close to the back of the medulla as in the open medulla. It is, however, still close to the midline.

See also

• Hypoglossal nerve

Additional images

• Gray695.png

  Transverse section of medulla oblongata below the middle of the olive.

• Gray697.png

  Nuclei of origin of cranial motor nerves schematically represented; lateral view.

• 

  Micrograph showing the hypoglossal nuclei in relation to their surrounding structures.

• Medulla oblongata - posterior - cn xii - high mag.jpg

  Micrograph showing the hypoglossal nucleus. H&E-LFB stain.

External links

• Illustration and text: 07CNXII at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Medical school
• Atlas image: n2a6p2 at the University of Michigan Health System
• Stained brain slice images which include the "Hypoglossal nucleus" at the BrainMaps project
• NIF Search - Hypoglossal Nucleus via the Neuroscience Information Framework