You’re on My Nerves — The Cranial Nerve Song
Asystole

Coffee’s gone cold, but the light’s still on,
One to twelve, put the names in a song.

One smells the coffee in the air,
Two sees the notes we’ve scattered there.
Three helps move the eyes and lifts the lids,
Constricts the pupils when the light comes in.
Four supplies superior oblique,
Look in, then down — the movement that we seek.
Close the book and let the rhythm stay,
Give me the number, I’ll find my way.

One — olfactory,
Two — optic,
Three — oculomotor,
Four — trochlear.
Five — trigeminal,
Six — abducens,
Seven — facial,
Eight — vestibulocochlear.
Nine — glossopharyngeal,
Ten — vagus,
Eleven — accessory,
Twelve — hypoglossal.
One to twelve, I know you by name,
Give me the number, I’ll sing it again.
One to twelve, let the melody stay,
Close the book, let me find my way.

Five feels the face and helps us chew,
Sensation comes in, jaw muscles move.
Six, lateral rectus, pulls out wide,
Moves the eye to the outer side.
Seven moves the face; let the tears flow,
Front two-thirds taste — that’s seven to know.
Eight brings hearing and balance along,
Steady on your feet as you hear this song.

One to twelve, I know you by name,
Give me the number, I’ll sing it again.

Nine, taste from the tongue’s back third,
Helps us swallow between the words.
Ten brings the voice, helps swallowing flow,
Helps the gut move, lets the heartbeat slow.
Eleven shrugs shoulders, turns the head,
Twelve moves the tongue for the words we’ve said.
Close the book and let the rhythm stay,
Give me the number, I’ll find my way.

One, two, eight — sensory.
Three, four, six — motor.
Eleven, twelve — motor too.
Five, seven, nine, ten — both come through.
Sensory in and motor out,
That’s what “both” is all about.
Three, seven, nine and ten,
Parasympathetic — sing them again.

One — olfactory,
Two — optic,
Three — oculomotor,
Four — trochlear.
Five — trigeminal,
Six — abducens,
Seven — facial,
Eight — vestibulocochlear.
Nine — glossopharyngeal,
Ten — vagus,
Eleven — accessory,
Twelve — hypoglossal.
One to twelve, I know you by name,
Give me the number, I’ll sing it again.
One to twelve, let the melody stay,
Close the book, let me find my way.

Coffee’s gone cold, here comes the day,
Close the book, let me find my way.