Facial Nerve Pathways Flashcards
What is the major role of the facial nerve?
Branchial motor - ipsilateral facial expression
What are the four main actions of the facial nerve?
Branchial motor - efferent to ipsilateral muscles of facial expression
Visceral motor - preganglionic parasym to lacrimal, submandibular, and sublingual glands
Somatic sensory - afferent to ipsilateral of outer ear, nasal cavity, and soft palate
Visceral (special) sensory - ipsilateral afferent for tast to anterior 2/3 of tongue
What ganglion do the somatic and visceral sensory nerves from the facial nerve terminate (primary)?
The geniculate ganglion
What part of the ear does the branchial motor serve?
The stapedius
Where is the facial motor nucleus?
Ventrolateral caudal pons
What nerves does the corneal blink reflex involve?
V and VII
How is the corneal blink response triggered?
By touching the cornea
- V1 to trigeminal gang
- Most info goes down the spinal trigeminal tract
- Output from spinal trigeminal tract to both the motor nuclei of the facial nerve (bilateral)
- Efferents to motor nuclei of the facial nerve to Orbicularis oculi causing a bilateral blink