Short answer: learn the twelve nerves in order with one mnemonic, learn sensory-motor-both with a second mnemonic, and then test functions, not just names. Students who only memorize the list freeze when the examiner asks what happens when nerve VII is damaged. Names are step one. Functions are where the marks are.
The names in order
Use the classic: Oh, Oh, Oh, To Touch And Feel Very Green Vegetables, AH. That gives you olfactory (I), optic (II), oculomotor (III), trochlear (IV), trigeminal (V), abducens (VI), facial (VII), vestibulocochlear (VIII), glossopharyngeal (IX), vagus (X), accessory (XI) and hypoglossal (XII). Say it out loud five times. It takes two minutes and it never leaves.
Then learn the second mnemonic: Some Say Marry Money But My Brother Says Big Brains Matter More. S is sensory, M is motor, B is both, in the same order. So nerve I is sensory, II is sensory, III is motor, IV is motor, V is both, VI is motor, VII is both, VIII is sensory, IX is both, X is both, XI is motor, XII is motor. Two mnemonics, and the whole table is in your head.
The nerves examiners test most
Eye movements come first. Nerves III, IV and VI move the eye, and examiners love asking what happens when one fails. A third nerve palsy gives a drooping eyelid and an eye that drifts down and out. A sixth nerve palsy stops the eye turning outward. Learn those two pictures and you can answer most eye viva questions.
Next is the facial nerve (VII). A lower motor neuron facial palsy paralyzes the whole half of the face, including the forehead. An upper motor neuron lesion spares the forehead. That one distinction shows up in vivas, MCQs and clinical exams alike. Finally, the hypoglossal nerve (XII): when it is damaged, the tongue deviates toward the damaged side when stuck out.
From names to functions
Here is the drill that turns a list into knowledge. For each nerve, cover the name and ask yourself three things: what does it do, what happens when it fails, and one clinical test for it. If you cannot answer all three, that nerve goes on a flashcard. Turn the 12 nerves into flashcards on Ominsol and review them on a schedule instead of re-reading the list. The same method works for the rest of anatomy: our brachial plexus guide uses it for the upper limb, and our 30-day anatomy plan fits all of it into a month.