Twelfth cranial nerve (hypoglossal nerve, cranial nerve XII). Historical anatomical artwork of a side view of a dissected human neck showing veins (blue), arteries (red), muscles (red), and nerves (white). The hypoglossal nerve is named for the branch it sends to the underside of the tongue (at upper right), but other nerves also ennervate the tongue (such as the gustatory nerve). The twelfth cranial nerve also branches to ennervate other structures, such as throat muscles. The thick nerves at lower left are cervical nerves from the cervical spinal cord. The main vein seen here is the internal jugular vein. Artwork from The Nerves of the Human Body (Ed. Jones Quain, London, 1839).