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Handbook of Trigeminal Neuralgia pp 11–22Cite as

Anatomy of Trigeminal Nerve

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Abstract

Trigeminal nerve is the fifth (V) cranial nerve and is also known as Trifacial nerve. It is the largest of the twelve cranial nerves and has a broad territory of distribution. It is a mixed nerve with both motor and sensory fibers. The nerve originates from the brainstem (pons) and supplies various structures of the head and face. It is a paired nerve, and each nerve supply ipsilateral half of the head and face. Each trigeminal nerve has three main branches and so the name trigeminal (from Latin word “trigeminus” meaning three twins). The sensory modalities of the facial region are more complex and specialized than any other part of the body. There are zones of dense innervation in the territory of trigeminal nerve, and therefore have more number of neurons which explains the larger size of the trigeminal nerve compared to other nerves.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroanaesthesiology and Critical Care, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India

    Gyaninder Pal Singh

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  1. Gyaninder Pal Singh
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroanaesthesiology and Critical Care, Neurosciences Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

    Girija Prasad Rath

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© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Singh, G.P. (2019). Anatomy of Trigeminal Nerve. In: Rath, G. (eds) Handbook of Trigeminal Neuralgia. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2333-1_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2333-1_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-13-2332-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-2333-1

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