The spinal accessory nerve has a cisternal, a foraminal (jugular) and an extracranial course. The tumors can be anywhere along this course.
Spinal accessory nerve schwannomas are classified accordingly by their origin as cisternal, foraminal or extracranial/cervical 1) 2).
The intracranial accessory nerve schwannomas could be either of the jugular foramen type, the intracisternal type, or of the cervical type. The lower cranial nerves which include the glossopharyngeal nerve, the vagus and the accessory nerve, form a complex at the jugular foramen, which is defined as a jugular foramen schwannoma without the identification of the individual cranial nerve 3).