US Medical Term · anatomy
Facial Nerve
Nervio facial
In 9 languages
| Language | Term |
|---|---|
| English | Facial Nerve |
| Spanish (Español) | Nervio facial |
| Chinese (中文) | 顏面神經 |
| Korean (한국어) | 안면신경 |
| Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) | Dây thần kinh mặt |
| Filipino (Tagalog) | Facial nerve |
| Portuguese (Português) | Nervo facial |
| Thai (ภาษาไทย) | เส้นประสาทใบหน้า |
| Japanese (日本語) | 顔面神経 |
What it means
The facial nerve is the seventh cranial nerve. It controls all of the muscles responsible for facial expression — raising your eyebrows, smiling, closing your eyes, and puffing your cheeks. The facial nerve also carries taste signals from the front two-thirds of the tongue, controls the salivary and tear glands, and provides sensation to part of the ear. Bell's palsy is a common condition in which the facial nerve becomes inflamed, causing sudden weakness or paralysis on one side of the face. This makes the face droop, makes it hard to close one eye, and can cause difficulty speaking or eating. Most people recover fully within a few months. Damage to the facial nerve during ear or parotid gland surgery is a known risk that surgeons work hard to avoid.
How to say it
Sentences a patient might use with a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or insurer:
I woke up with one side of my face drooping — the emergency doctor said it might be Bell's palsy, affecting my facial nerve.
Me desperté con un lado de la cara caído — el médico de urgencias dijo que podría ser parálisis de Bell, que afecta el nervio facial.
Will the weakness on my face go away once the facial nerve heals?
¿La debilidad en mi cara desaparecerá cuando el nervio facial sane?
After my ear surgery, my doctor is watching my facial nerve to make sure it was not injured.
Después de mi cirugía de oído, mi doctor está monitoreando mi nervio facial para asegurarse de que no fue lesionado.
Where you'll see it
Related terms
Sources
Last reviewed: September 2026