Cranial Nerve XII

The Hypoglossal Nerve

Lin, Helen C. M.D.
Barkhaus, Paul E. M.D.

¹Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; ²Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Address for correspondence and reprint requests: Helen C. Lin, M.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 9200 W. Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53226 (e-mail: [email protected]).

Seminars in Neurology 29(1):p 45-52, February 2009.

The hypoglossal nerve provides motor innervation to the tongue, and may be affected by pathology at multiple locations along its pathway. Knowledge of its anatomy and careful examination of the tongue are important in the diagnosis of lesions and determination of appropriate testing. The hypoglossal nerve anatomy and physiology, clinical disorders, and the evaluation of the hypoglossal nerve are reviewed.