The
sensory trigeminal nerve nuclei are the largest of the
cranial nerve nuclei
A cranial nerve nucleus is a collection of neurons (gray matter) in the brain stem that is associated with one or more of the cranial nerves. Axons carrying information to and from the cranial nerves form a synapse first at these nuclei. Lesions ...
, and extend through the whole of the
midbrain
The midbrain or mesencephalon is the forward-most portion of the brainstem and is associated with vision, hearing, motor control, sleep and wakefulness, arousal ( alertness), and temperature regulation. The name comes from the Greek ''mesos'', ...
,
pons
The pons (from Latin , "bridge") is part of the brainstem that in humans and other bipeds lies inferior to the midbrain, superior to the medulla oblongata and anterior to the cerebellum.
The pons is also called the pons Varolii ("bridge of Va ...
and
medulla
Medulla or Medullary may refer to:
Science
* Medulla oblongata, a part of the brain stem
* Renal medulla, a part of the kidney
* Adrenal medulla, a part of the adrenal gland
* Medulla of ovary, a stroma in the center of the ovary
* Medulla of t ...
, and into the high cervical spinal cord.
The nucleus is divided into three parts, from rostral to caudal (top to bottom in humans):
* The
mesencephalic nucleus
* The
chief sensory nucleus
The principal sensory nucleus of trigeminal nerve (or chief sensory nucleus of V, main trigeminal sensory nucleus) is a group of second-order neurons which have cell bodies in the caudal pons.
It receives information about discriminative sensatio ...
(or "pontine nucleus" or "main sensory nucleus" or "primary nucleus" or "principal nucleus")
* The
spinal trigeminal nucleus
::The spinal trigeminal nucleus is further subdivided into three parts, from rostral to caudal:
:* Pars Oralis (from the Pons to the Hypoglossal nucleus)
:* Pars Interpolaris (from the Hypoglossal nucleus to the
obex
OBEX (abbreviation of OBject EXchange, also termed IrOBEX) is a communications protocol that facilitates the exchange of binary objects between devices. It is maintained by the Infrared Data Association but has also been adopted by the Bluetooth S ...
)
:* Pars Caudalis (from the obex to C2)
There is also a distinct
trigeminal motor nucleus that is medial to the chief sensory nucleus.
See also
*
Photic sneeze reflex
*
Trigeminal nerve
In neuroanatomy, the trigeminal nerve ( lit. ''triplet'' nerve), also known as the fifth cranial nerve, cranial nerve V, or simply CN V, is a cranial nerve responsible for sensation in the face and motor functions such as biting and che ...
Additional images
File:Gray683.png, Dissection of brain-stem. Lateral view.
File:Gray684.png, Deep dissection of brain-stem. Lateral view.
File:Gray697.png, Nuclei of origin of cranial motor nerves schematically represented; lateral view.
File:Gray698.png, Primary terminal nuclei of the afferent (sensory) cranial nerves schematically represented; lateral view.
External links
*
Washington University
{{Mesencephalon
Cranial nerve nuclei
Trigeminal nerve