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Face (Motor)

Last Updated: Jan 28, 2015

The face’s motor nerves descend from the facial nerves, which are the seventh pair of cranial nerves and are, therefore, numbered VII. They arise from the lower part of the pons at the base of the brain stem and emerge on the sides of the face. Its motor fibers send impulses to muscles for facial expressions. Other fibers function involuntarily by stimulating the tear gland and some saliva glands (submandibular,mycontentbreak sublingual, and parotid salivary glands). The facial nerves from the brow to the throat under the chin include: (1) the temporal nerve, (2) the zygomatic nerve, (3) the buccal nerve, (4) the facial nerve, (4) the posterior auricular nerve, (5) mandibular nerve, and (6) the cervical nerve.