# What is the facial nerve?

The facial nerve is called the facial nerve (seventh cranial nerve). Gray's Anatomy (1918) describes it as the seventh cranial nerve.

## What it means

- The seventh cranial nerve.
- Supplies the muscles of facial expression.
- Also carries taste from the front two-thirds of the tongue.

## Action steps

1. Arises from the brainstem at the lower border of the pons.
2. Passes through the temporal bone.
3. Emerges from the skull near the ear and fans out across the face.

## Sources

- [Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body (1918)](https://www.bartleby.com/107/)

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