Cranial nerve, fifth
Cranial nerve, fifth: The fifth cranial nerve is the trigeminal nerve.
The trigeminal nerve is quite complex. It functions both as the chief nerve of sensation for the face and the motor nerve controlling the muscles of mastication (chewing).
Problems with the sensory part of the trigeminal nerve result in pain or loss of sensation in the face. Problems with the motor root of the trigeminal nerve result in deviation of the jaw toward the affected side and trouble chewing.
The cranial nerves, the trigeminal nerve included, emerge from or enter the skull (the cranium), as opposed to the spinal nerves which emerge from the vertebral column. There are twelve cranial nerves.
The term “trigeminal” comes from the Latin “trigeminus” meaning “threefold,” referring to the three divisions (ophthalmic, maxillary and mandibular) of this nerve.
Read Also:
- Cranial nerve, first
Cranial nerve, first: The cranial nerves emerge from or enter the skull (the cranium), as opposed to the spinal nerves which emerge from the vertebral column. There are twelve cranial nerves. The first cranial nerve is the olfactory nerve which carries impulses for the sense of smell from the nose to the brain. The word […]
- Cranial nerve, fourth
Cranial nerve, fourth: The fourth cranial nerve, the trochlear nerve, is the nerve supply to the superior oblique muscle of the eye, one of the muscles that moves the eye. Paralysis of the trochlear nerve results in rotation of the eyeball upward and outward (and, therefore, double vision). The twelve cranial nerves, the trochlear nerve […]
- Cranial nerve, ninth
Cranial nerve, ninth: The ninth cranial nerve is the glossopharyngeal nerve. The 12 cranial nerves, the glossopharyngeal nerve included, emerge from or enter the skull (the cranium), as opposed to the spinal nerves which emerge from the vertebral column. The glossopharyngeal nerve supplies the tongue, throat, and one of the salivary glands (the parotid gland). […]
- Cranial nerve, second
Cranial nerve, second: The second cranial nerve is the optic nerve, the nerve that connects the eye to the brain and carries the impulses formed by the retina — the nerve layer that lines the back of the eye, senses light and creates the impulses — to the brain which interprets them as images. The […]
- Cranial nerve, seventh
Cranial nerve, seventh: The seventh cranial nerve is the facial nerve, a mixed nerve that has fibers both going out and coming in (both efferent and afferent fibers). It supplies the muscles of facial expression. Paralysis of the facial nerve causes a characteristic picture with drooping of one side of the face, inability to wrinkle […]