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. 2010 Jan;7(1):13-6.

The Trigeminal (V) and Facial (VII) Cranial Nerves: Head and Face Sensation and Movement

Richard D Sanders  1
Affiliations

The Trigeminal (V) and Facial (VII) Cranial Nerves: Head and Face Sensation and Movement

Richard D Sanders. Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2010 Jan.

Abstract

There are close functional and anatomical relationships between cranial nerves V and VII in both their sensory and motor divisions. Sensation on the face is innervated by the trigeminal nerves (V) as are the muscles of mastication, but the muscles of facial expression are innervated mainly by the facial nerve (VII) as is the sensation of taste. This article briefly reviews the anatomy of these cranial nerves, disorders of these nerves that are of particular importance to psychiatry, and some considerations for differential diagnosis.

Keywords: Bell’s palsy; Parry-Romberg syndrome; Sturge-Weber syndrome; facial nerve; taste; tic doloureaux; trigeminal nerve; trigeminal neuralgia.

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