Cranial nerves, historical anatomical artwork. This neck and upper torso have been dissected to show the paths of the twelve cranial nerves (white). The cranial nerves emerge in the brainstem at the base of the brain, and mediate the movements and senses of the face and head. The vagus nerve, the 10th cranial nerve (central, white), extends to the abdomen, innervating the larynx, heart (lower, orange) and digestive system. This illustration is taken from the nineteenth-century French textbook, the Atlas of Human Anatomy and Surgery, by J. M. Bourgery and N. H. Jacob.