| Definition: |
The process whose specific outcome is the progression of the trigeminal nerve over time, from its formation to the mature structure. The trigeminal nerve is composed of three large branches. They are the ophthalmic (V1, sensory), maxillary (V2, sensory) and mandibular (V3, motor and sensory) branches. The sensory ophthalmic branch travels through the superior orbital fissure and passes through the orbit to reach the skin of the forehead and top of the head. The maxillary nerve contains sensory branches that reach the pterygopalatine fossa via the inferior orbital fissure (face, cheek and upper teeth) and pterygopalatine canal (soft and hard palate, nasal cavity and pharynx). The motor part of the mandibular branch is distributed to the muscles of mastication, the mylohyoid muscle and the anterior belly of the digastric. The mandibular nerve also innervates the tensor veli palatini and tensor tympani muscles. The sensory part of the mandibular nerve is composed of branches that carry general sensory information from the mucous membranes of the mouth and cheek, anterior two-thirds of the tongue, lower teeth, skin of the lower jaw, side of the head and scalp and meninges of the anterior and middle cranial fossae. |