 Cranial nerves have paths within and outside of the skull. The paths within the skull are called "intracranial" and the paths outside the skull are called "extracranial". There are many holes in the skull called "foramina" by which the nerves can exit the skull. All cranial nerves are paired, which means that they occur on both the right and left sides of the body. The muscle, skin, or additional function supplied by a nerve on the same side of the body as the side it originates from, is referred to an ipsilateral function. If the function is on the opposite side to the origin of the nerve, this is known as a contralateral function.
