There are 12 major pairs of cranial nerves, and they originate from the brain and upper spinal cord and innervate the special sense organs in the head (eye, ear, nose, and taste buds), the skin over the face and neck, and muscles that permit us to speak, eat, turn our head, and produce facial expressions. Cranial nerves also provide parasympathetic innervation to the eye (III) and glands in the head and neck (CN VII, IX, and X) and cranial nerve X, the vagus innervates the skeletal muscles in the larynx that produce speech, and also innervates the organs of the cardiovascular system, pulmonary system, GI system, and urogenital systems.