Trigeminal (with supraorbital; maxillary and infraorbital; mandibular and mental nerves) and Glossopharyngeal Nerves with relatively rare Neuralgias of Geniculate Ganglion (Hunt) and Sphenopalatine Ganglion (Sluder)

Abstract

The trigeminal nerve is responsible for carrying sensory input (touch, pain, temperature) to, and motor output (only via third division to jaw muscles) from the brain. There are two differing pain states: one, resulting from many causes, including space-occupying or malignant lesions, resulting in constant pain and loss of sensation of touch; the other, constituting genuine trigeminal neuralgia, consisting of extremely brief attacks of pain (also called “tic douloreux”), which does not include any loss of sensation of touch and no motor involvement. The course of the trigeminal tracts from cortex to mid brain nuclei and the position of these nuclei and the changing neuronal structures bordering these elements of pain conduction from the face, as well as neighboring vascular structures, allow us to understand modifications in such a way as to recognize a possible lesion.