AN28.1-10 | Face & parotid region — Glossary

CN VII carrying motor fibres to facial muscles, parasympathetic to lacrimal/submandibular/sublingual glands, taste from anterior two-thirds of tongue

Idiopathic LMN facial nerve palsy causing ipsilateral complete facial paralysis including the forehead, the most common cause of facial palsy

Upper motor neurone lesion (stroke) causing contralateral lower face weakness with forehead SPARED due to bilateral cortical representation

Lower motor neurone lesion causing ipsilateral complete facial paralysis INCLUDING the forehead

CN V providing sensory innervation to the face through three divisions: V1 (ophthalmic), V2 (maxillary), V3 (mandibular)

The largest salivary gland located anterior to the ear, with CN VII passing through it dividing it into superficial and deep lobes

Stensen's duct emerging from the anterior surface of the parotid, crossing masseter, piercing buccinator, opening opposite the upper 2nd molar

A branch of the ECA crossing the mandible at the anterior border of masseter with a tortuous course to become the angular artery at the medial canthus

A valveless vein from the angular vein at the medial canthus to the IJV, providing a dangerous pathway for infection to reach the cavernous sinus

A connecting vein between the facial vein and pterygoid venous plexus, forming part of the dangerous pathway to the cavernous sinus

Gustatory sweating after parotidectomy caused by aberrant regeneration of parasympathetic fibres from CN IX joining sympathetic fibres to skin sweat glands

Inability to close the eye due to orbicularis oculi paralysis from CN VII injury, risking corneal ulceration

A cheek muscle compressing food against teeth during chewing, pierced by the parotid duct, the 'trumpeter's muscle'

A branch of CN VII carrying taste fibres from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue and parasympathetic fibres to submandibular and sublingual glands

A branch of CN VII from the geniculate ganglion carrying parasympathetic fibres to the lacrimal gland via the pterygopalatine ganglion

The sensory ganglion of CN VII at the sharp bend in the facial canal, where the greater petrosal nerve branches off

The foramen through which CN VII exits the skull, located between the styloid and mastoid processes of the temporal bone

A terminal branch of CN VII at risk during submandibular gland surgery, supplying muscles of the lower lip

A vein formed within the parotid gland by the union of the superficial temporal and maxillary veins

A branch of CN V3 that wraps around the middle meningeal artery and carries parasympathetic fibres from the otic ganglion to the parotid gland

Groups of nodes draining the head and neck: submental, submandibular, parotid, upper and lower deep cervical chains along the IJV

Severe lancinating facial pain along one or more divisions of CN V, one of the most intense pain syndromes known

Thrombosis of the cavernous sinus from facial/nasal infection spread via valveless veins, presenting with proptosis and ophthalmoplegia