facial nerve

facial nerve (plural facial nerves)

1. (neuroanatomy) The seventh (VII) of twelve paired 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.

   Hypernym: cranial nerve

   Coordinate terms: olfactory nerve, optic nerve, oculomotor nerve, trochlear nerve, trigeminal nerve, abducens nerve, vestibulocochlear nerve, glossopharyngeal nerve, vagus nerve, accessory nerve, hypoglossal nerve

• “facial nerve”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “facial nerve”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.