The jugular foramen transmits which nerves?

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The jugular foramen is the exit route from the skull for three cranial nerves and the internal jugular vein. The nerves that pass through this foramen are the glossopharyngeal nerve (IX), the vagus nerve (X), and the spinal accessory nerve (XI). These nerves emerge to reach structures in the oropharynx, neck, and thorax, with IX providing taste and visceral sensing, X supplying parasympathetic fibers and motor to parts of the pharynx and larynx, and XI innervating the sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscles. The other nerves listed travel through different skull openings: olfactory I and optic II go through the anterior skull openings (cribriform plate and optic canal); the oculomotor III, trochlear IV, and abducens VI pass via the superior orbital fissure; and the vestibulocochlear VIII and facial VII go through the internal auditory meatus.