Brain anatomy. Historical artwork of the anatomy of the human brain and the cranial nerves,as seen from the side. The front of the brain is at left. The cranial nerves (blue,lower left) are shown branching off the brainstem (blue,lower right). The optic and olfactory nerves are now known to originate elsewhere in the brain. The optic nerve (green) connects to the eyes (one at centre left). The other cranial nerves ennervate areas like the face,scalp,neck,nose,ear,tongue,lungs,heart and stomach. The rest of the brain has been cut in half. The cerebellum (pink,right of brainstem) controls functions like balance and posture. The cerebrum (brown,across top) is where conscious thought occurs. Its two hemispheres are connected by the corpus callosum (yellow) |