A geniculum is a small genu, or angular knee-like structure. The term is often used in anatomical nomenclature to designate a sharp knee-like bend in a small structure or organ.
For example, in the facial canal, the genicular ganglion is situated on the geniculum of the facial nerve, the point where the nerve changes its direction.
The facial nerve, also known as the seventh cranial nerve, cranial nerve VII, or simply CN VII, is a cranial nerve that emerges from the pons of the brainstem, controls the muscles of facial expression, and functions in the conveyance of taste sensations from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue. The nerve typically travels from the pons through the facial canal in the temporal bone and exits the skull at the stylomastoid foramen. It arises from the brainstem from an area posterior to the cranial nerve VI (abducens nerve) and anterior to cranial nerve VIII (vestibulocochlear nerve).
The facial nerve also supplies preganglionic parasympathetic fibers to several head and neck ganglia.
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