facial nerve

noun

Definition of facial nerve

: either of the seventh pair of cranial nerves that supply motor fibers especially to the muscles of the face and jaw and sensory and parasympathetic fibers to the tongue, palate, and fauces

Recent Examples of facial nerve from the Web

Delicate structures in the skull, like facial nerves, taste nerves, inner ear and balance organs can't be affected, while bone filings and blood can blurry a microscope during surgery.

— laura yan, Popular Mechanics, "This Robot Surgeon Will Drill Right Into Your Skull," 28 Apr. 2018
Ramsay Hunt Syndrome is a rare form of shingles that affects the facial nerves.

— korin miller, SELF, "P90X Founder Tony Horton Reveals He’s Been Diagnosed With Ramsay Hunt Syndrome," 26 Oct. 2017
There are two cranial nerves responsible for taste perception in different areas of the tongue: the glossopharyngeal nerve in the back and the chorda tympani branch of the facial nerve in the front.

— steven d munger, Smithsonian, "The Taste Map of the Tongue You Learned in School Is All Wrong," 23 May 2017
The four officers had been zealous in their work, using their batons to break Rodney King's cheekbone and ankle and 11 bones at the base of his skull, damaging his facial nerves and knocking the fillings out of his teeth.

— joe domanick, Esquire, "The LAPD and the Shame of a Nation," 5 Aug. 2015

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'facial nerve.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of facial nerve

1798

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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Medical Dictionary

facial nerve

noun

medical Definition of facial nerve

: either of the seventh pair of cranial nerves that supply motor fibers especially to the muscles of the face and jaw and sensory and parasympathetic fibers to the tongue, palate, and fauces — called also seventh cranial nerve, seventh nerve