Maxillary nerve

Nerve: Maxillary nerve
Alveolar branches of superior maxillary nerve and pterygopalatine ganglion.
Latin	n. maxillaris
Gray's	subject #200 889
From	Trigeminal nerve
To	Infraorbital nerve, Posterior superior alveolar nerve, Palatine nerve, Nasopalatine nerve, Sphenopalatine ganglion
MeSH	Maxillary+Nerve

The maxillary nerve (V₂) is one of the three branches of the trigeminal nerve, the fifth cranial nerve. It comprises the principal functions of sensation from the maxillary, nasal cavity, sinuses, the palate and subsequently that of the mid-face, ^[1] and is intermediate, both in position and size, between the ophthalmic nerve and the mandibular nerve. Its function is the transmission of sensory fibers from the maxillary teeth, the skin between the palpebral fissure and the mouth, and from the nasal cavity and sinuses.^[2]

Path

An illustration of the path of the Maxillary nerve.

Anterior to the trigeminal ganglion, the maxillary nerve passes through the cavernous sinus and exits the skull through the foramen rotundum.

It begins at the middle of the trigeminal ganglion as a flattened plexiform band, and, passing horizontally forward, it leaves the skull through the foramen rotundum, where it becomes more cylindrical in form, and firmer in texture.

It then crosses the pterygopalatine fossa, inclines lateralward on the back of the maxilla, and enters the orbit through the inferior orbital fissure; it traverses the infraorbital groove and canal in the floor of the orbit, and appears upon the face at the infraorbital foramen. Here is it referred to as the infraorbital nerve, a terminal branch.

At its termination, the nerve lies beneath the quadratus labii superioris, and divides into a leash of branches which spread out upon the side of the nose, the lower eyelid, and the upper lip, joining with filaments of the facial nerve.

Branches

Its branches may be divided into four groups, according as they are given off in the cranium, in the pterygopalatine fossa, in the infraorbital canal, or on the face.

From the pterygopalatine fossa

• Infraorbital nerve through Infraorbital canal
• Zygomatic nerve (zygomaticotemporal nerve, zygomaticofacial nerve) through Inferior orbital fissure
• Nasal Branches (nasopalatine) through Sphenopalatine foramen
• Superior alveolar nerves (Posterior superior alveolar nerve, Middle superior alveolar nerve)
• Palatine Nerves (Greater palatine nerve,Lesser palatine nerve)
• Pharyngeal nerve

In the infraorbital canal

• Anterior superior alveolar nerve
• Infraorbital nerve

On the face

• Inferior palpebral nerve
• Superior labial nerve

Additional images

Oblique section through the cavernous sinus.

Dermatome distribution of the trigeminal nerve

Distribution of the maxillary and mandibular nerves, and the submaxillary ganglion.

The right sympathetic chain and its connections with the thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic plexuses.

References

1. Monkhouse, Stanley (2006). Cranial nerves - functional anatomy. Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-61537-2. 

Notes

External links

• MedEd at Loyola GrossAnatomy/h_n/cn/cn1/cnb2.htm
• cranialnerves at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (VII)

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.