| Digastric branch of facial nerve | |
|---|---|
 Plan of the facial and intermediate nerves and their communication with other nerves. ("To digastric" labeled at bottom left.) | |
| Details | |
| From | Facial nerve |
| Innervates | Posterior belly of digastric muscle |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | ramus digastricus nervi facialis |
| TA98 | A14.2.01.105 |
| TA2 | 6298 |
| FMA | 53288 |
| Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy | |
The digastric branch of facial nerve provides motor innervation to the posterior belly of the digastric muscle. [1] [2] It branches from the facial nerve (CN VII) after it exits the stylomastoid foramen [1] as CN VII exits the facial canal (it thus branches proximal to the parotid plexus of facial nerve). [2] It commonly arises in common with the stylohyoid branch of facial nerve. [3] It descends in the upper neck near the stylohyoid muscle. [4] It is an important anatomical landmark in surgical approaches to the facial nerve and nearby structures in the upper neck. [5]
