Cranial nerves XIII and XIV: nerves in the shadows
Bruno Bordoni, Emiliano Zanier
Two often-overlooked cranial nerves, XIII and XIV, have clinical relevance for surgeons and manual therapists who should be aware of them.
It has been known for over a century that these cranial nerves exist, and that they are not typographical errors nor a sensational event reported in the medical literature. A number of scientific articles on anatomy highlight how textbooks on descriptive anatomy do not always consider variables such as differences related to the geographical areas where people live, and these differences do exist. This is an important concept not only for surgeons, but also for all medical professionals who use manual techniques when treating their patients, ie, osteopaths, chiropractors, physiotherapists, and other manual therapists. This paper highlights the latest developments regarding these cranial nerves, offering at the same time some ideas for further reflection when looking at clinical scenarios that appear to bear little relationship to each other. Inclusion of these concepts in everyday anamnesis is encouraged.
The episode was first published on the Swedish podcast Fasciaguiden on May 26, 2025. In this episode, we meet the French surgeon Jean-Claude Guimberteau, who has spent more than 3…
Fascia research has sparked a wildfire of new insights that are challenging conventional belief about how the living body works. In the last 15-20 years thousands of high quality…