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Cranial Nerve 7 - Facial (VII)
The facial nerve conveys the sensation of taste from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue and visceral sensations from the head. In addition, the motor component of this nerve controls muscles of the face, glandular activity underlying crying and salivation, and dilatation of blood vessels within the head.
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The sensory portion of the seventh cranial nerve, arises from the taste buds on the anterior two-thirds of the tongue (Parent, 1996). These fibers pass through the stylomastoidi foramen (the opening or passage at the styloid and mastoid processes of the temporal bone) and synapse in the geniculate nucleus in the pons. These sensory fibers convey information about taste and proprioception. The motor portion of the Facial nerve is more extensive in its distribution. There are five major branches, the temporal, zygomatic, buccal, mandibular, and cervical, running from the forehead down to the neck. All motor fibers of the facial nerve originate in the pons and pass through the stlyomastoid foramen of the skull before distribution to the muscles of the scalp, face, and neck. In addition, parasympathetic fibers are distributed to lacrimal, sublingual, submandibular, nasal, and palatine glands.
| Reference |
Parent, A. (1996). Carpenter's human neuroanatomy (9th ed.). London: Williams & Wilkins.