The ethmoidal nerves, which arise from the

nasociliary nerve The nasociliary nerve is a branch of the ophthalmic nerve, itself a branch of the trigeminal nerve (CN V). It is intermediate in size between the other two branches of the ophthalmic nerve, the frontal nerve and lacrimal nerve. Structure The na ...

, supply the

ethmoidal cell The ethmoid sinuses or ethmoid air cells of the ethmoid bone are one of the four paired paranasal sinuses. The cells are variable in both size and number in the lateral mass of each of the ethmoid bones and cannot be palpated during an extraoral ...

s; the posterior branch leaves the

orbital cavity In anatomy, the orbit is the cavity or socket of the skull in which the eye and its appendages are situated. "Orbit" can refer to the bony socket, or it can also be used to imply the contents. In the adult human, the volume of the orbit is , o ...

through the

posterior ethmoidal foramen Lateral to either olfactory groove are the internal openings of the anterior and posterior ethmoidal foramina (or canals). The posterior ethmoidal foramen opens at the back part of this margin under cover of the projecting lamina of the sphenoid, ...

and gives some filaments to the

sphenoidal sinus The sphenoid sinus is a paired paranasal sinus occurring within the within the body of the sphenoid bone. It represents one pair of the four paired paranasal sinuses.Illustrated Anatomy of the Head and Neck, Fehrenbach and Herring, Elsevier, 2012 ...

. There are two ethmoidal nerves on each side of the face: *

posterior ethmoidal nerve The posterior ethmoidal nerve is a nerve of the orbit around the eye. It is a branch of the nasociliary nerve from the ophthalmic nerve (CN V1). It supplies sensation to the sphenoid sinus, the ethmoid sinus, and part of the dura mater in the ...

anterior ethmoidal nerve The anterior ethmoidal nerve is a nerve of the nose. It is a branch of the nasociliary nerve, itself a branch of the ophthalmic nerve (V1). It provides sensory innervation to some structures around the nasal cavity. Structure The anterior ethm ...

References

External links

ufl.edu
Trigeminal nerve {{neuroanatomy-stub