Accessory nerve
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Two components
- Spinal component of the accessory nerve provides motor control of the sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscles.
- Trapezius muscle: Shrugging the shoulders
- Sternocleidomastoid: Turning the head. Contraction of the stenocleidomastoid fibres turns the head to the opposite side, the net effect meaning that the head is turned to the side of the brain receiving visual information from that area.
- The cranial component of the accessory nerve, on the other hand, provides motor control to the muscles of the soft palate, larynx and pharynx.