7. The Facial nerve passes out from the border of the pons varolii and through a canal in the petrous portion of the temporal bone. It emerges from the skull through the stylo-mastoid foramen, and breaks up in the substance of the parotid gland to supply the muscles of the face. Directly after emerging from the stylo-mastoid foramen the nerve gives off three small branches, which supply respectively the stylo-hyoid, posterior belly of digastric, and the intrinsic muscles of the ear, and this latter also gives a branch to the posterior belly of occipitofrontalis.

In the parotid gland the nerve breaks up into two main divisions-the temporo- and cervico-facial-each of which divides into three sets of branches. This arrangement is called the pes anserinus.

The Temporo-Facial divides up into-(1) temporal, (2) malar, and (3) infraorbital branches, which supply the muscles of expression in their vicinity.