File:Gray0789.jpg

Fig. 789. The course and connections of the facial nerve in the temporal bone

From their superficial attachments to the brain, the two roots of the facial nerve pass lateralward and forward with the acoustic nerve to the internal acoustic meatus. In the meatus the motor root lies in a groove on the upper and anterior surface of the acoustic nerve, the sensory root being placed between them.

At the bottom of the meatus, the facial nerve enters the facial canal, which it traverses to its termination at the stylomastoid foramen. It is at first directed lateralward between the cochlea and vestibule toward the medial wall of the tympanic cavity; it then bends suddenly backward and arches downward behind the tympanic cavity to the stylomastoid foramen. The point where it changes its direction is named the geniculum; it presents a reddish gangliform swelling, the genicular ganglion (ganglion geniculi; geniculate ganglion; nucleus of the sensory root of the nerve) (Fig. 789). On emerging from the stylomastoid foramen, the facial nerve runs forward in the substance of the parotid gland, crosses the external carotid artery, and divides behind the ramus of the mandible into branches, from which numerous offsets are distributed over the side of the head, face, and upper part of the neck, supplying the superficial muscles in these regions. The branches and their offsets unite to form the parotid plexus.

(text modified from Gray's Anatomy)

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iBook - Gray's Embryology

iTunes link | iBooks Store Description - an extract of the embryology content from Anatomy of the Human Body By Henry Gray Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger, 1918. Releases First Edition - Jan 2012 Second Edition - March 2012 Repaired formatting and image display issues related to Pad rotated display and minor editing issues. Print length 169 pages, 41.6 MB, Language English. The current website also includes numerous images from this textbook, see Anatomy of the Human Body by Henry Gray and Category:Gray's 1918 Anatomy. Note the also Historic Disclaimer.

Reference

Gray H. Anatomy of the human body. (1918) Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger.

Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2024, April 26) Embryology Gray0789.jpg. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/File:Gray0789.jpg

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