4. Contents
Introduction
Functional components
Nuclei associated with nerve
Course and relations
Branches
Applied anatomy
Syndromes related to facial nerve
5. Introduction
The facial nerve is a mixed cranial
nerve with motor, parasympathetic,
and sensory branches.
The facial nerve (CN VII) is the
seventh paired cranial nerve.
6. The facial nerve is associated with the
derivatives of the second pharyngeal arch:
Motor – muscles of facial expression,
posterior belly of the digastric,
stylohyoid and stapedius muscles.
Sensory – a small area around the
concha of the external ear.
Special Sensory – provides special
taste sensation to the anterior 2/3 of
the tongue via the chorda tympani
Parasympathetic – supplies to glands
of the head and neck
7. Functional Components
1. Special visceral efferent muscles responsible for facial
expression and for elevation of the hyoid bone .
2. General visceral efferent These fibres are secretomotor to the
submandibular and sublingual salivary glands,the lacrimal gland.
3. General visceral afferent component carries afferent impulses from
the above mentioned glands.
4. Special visceral afferent fibres carry taste sensations from the palate
and from anterior two thirds of the tongue .
5. General somatic afferent fibres innervate a part of the skin of the
ear.
8. Nuclei
1. Motor nucleus or branchiomotor.
2. Superior salivatory nucleus.
3. Lacrimatory nucleus
4. Nucleus of the tractus solitarius
9.
10. Course of facial nerve
It can be divided into two parts:
Intracranial – the course of the nerve
through the cranial cavity, and the
cranium itself.
Extracranial – the course of the nerve
outside the cranium, through the face
and neck.
11. Intracranial
The nerve arises in the pons, an area of the
brainstem. It begins as two roots; a large motor
root, and a small sensory root
Leaves the brain at lower border of pons
Passes into internal acoustic meatus
Emerges from temporal bone at stylomastoid
foramen
12. Extracranial
The facial nerve crosses the lateral side of the base of
the styloid process.
It enters the posteromedial surface of the parotid
gland,
Behind the neck of the mandible, it divides into its five
terminal branches which emerge along the anterior
border of the parotid gland.
14. Within the parotid gland, the facial nerve terminates by
bifurcating into five motor branches. These innervate the
muscles of facial expression:
15. Applied anatomy
Bells ’s palsy: Sudden paralysis of facial nerve at
the stylomastoid foramen .
Asymmetry of face
Inability to close the eye,
Disappearance of nasolabial fold
Loss of wrinkling of skin of forehead on the same
side.
16. Testing of facial nerve
Motor Function.—
(1) Ask the patient to show his teeth when the angle of the mouth will
be drawn to the healthy side.
(2) Ask the patient to puff out the cheeks, the paralysed side blows out
more than the normal side.
(3) Ask the patient to shut his eyes. he will not be able to close the eye
on the affected side.
(4) Ask the patient to
move his eyebrows
upwards; the paralysis
side remains immobile.
17. Syndromes related to facial
nerve
Ramsay-Hunt syndrome:
Involvement of geniculate ganglia by herpes zoster
results in this syndrome.
(a) Hyperacusis.
(b) Loss of lacrimation.
(c) Loss of sensation of
taste in anterior two third
of tongue.
(d) Bell’s palsy and lack
of salivation.
(e) Vesicles on the auricle.
18. Crocodile tears syndrome:
Lacrimation during eating occurs due to aberrant
regeneration after trauma.
This is called Frey’s syndrome.
Moebius syndrome
It is a rare cause of congenital facial palsy due to
hypoplasia of the facial motor nucleus.
19. Millard-Gubler syndrome:
Homolateral impairment of CN VII and contralateral
motor deficiency respecting the face
Foville syndrome:
Homolateral impairment of CN VII, homolateral
impairment of CN VI, paralysis of the laterality towards
the lesion and contralateral motor deficiency respecting
the face.
20.
21. References
Facial nerve: From anatomy to
pathology F. Toulgoat a,∗ , J.L.
Sarrazinb,c , F. Benoudibac , Y.
Pereond, E. Auffray-Calvier a , B.
Daumas-Duport a , A. Lintia-Gaultier a ,
H.A. Desal a
Textbook of human anatomy-
B.D.Chaurasia
Editor's Notes
Parasympthetic ;;part of autonomous nervous system
maintains homeostasis of body
Restore body to calm and composed state
activities like constrict pupils, stimulates salivation, decreases heart rate
Motor:::efferant fibers,,,,,carry motor impulses from CNS to specific efffectors
Sensory::::afferant fibers,,,,,carry sensory impulses fromsensory organs to CNS
Parasympthetic ;;part of autonomous nervous system
maintains homeostasis of body
Restore body to calm and composed state
activities like constrict pupils, stimulates salivation, decreases heart rate
Sensory root is nervous intermedius
Geniculate ganglion ; is located on the first bend of the facial nerve, in relation to the medial wall of the middle ear. It is a sensory ganglion.
The taste fibres present in the nerve are peripheral processes of pseudounipolar neurons present in the geniculate ganglion.
POST AURICULAR N-----AURICULARIS POSTERIOR,OCCIPITALIS, INTRINSIC MUSCELES OF BACK OF AURICLE
• In case of damage to facial nerve proximal to geniculate ganglia, regenerating fibres for submandibular salivary gland grow in endoneural sheaths of preganglionic secretomotor fibres supplying the lacrimal gland.