EIGHTH CRANIAL NERVE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does eighth cranial nerve mean? 

• EIGHTH CRANIAL NERVE (noun)
  The noun EIGHTH CRANIAL NERVE has 1 sense:

1. a composite sensory nerve supplying the hair cells of the vestibular organ and the hair cells of the cochlea

  Familiarity information: EIGHTH CRANIAL NERVE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EIGHTH CRANIAL NERVE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A composite sensory nerve supplying the hair cells of the vestibular organ and the hair cells of the cochlea

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

acoustic nerve; auditory nerve; eighth cranial nerve; nervus vestibulocochlearis; vestibulocochlear nerve

Hypernyms ("eighth cranial nerve" is a kind of...):

cranial nerve (any of the 12 paired nerves that originate in the brain stem)

Holonyms ("eighth cranial nerve" is a part of...):

auditory system (the sensory system for hearing)

 Context examples 

The eighth cranial nerve composed of the acoustic nerve and the vestibular nerve.

(Murine Vestibulocochlear Nerve, NCI Thesaurus)

When the cochlea moves in response to sound, a slight shearing force occurs between the basilar and tectorial membranes, the stereocilia bend and send electrical impulses to the brain via the eighth cranial nerve.

(Inner Hair Cell of the Organ of the Corti, NCI Thesaurus)