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Cranial nerves are nerves that emerge directly from the brain in contrast to spinal nerves which emerge from segments of the spinal cord. Conventionally, there are twelve recognized cranial nerves in humans. The nerves from the third onward arise from the brain stem. Except for the tenth and the...
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83 Cranial nerve topics matching:
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| x Cranial nerves |
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Cranial nerves are nerves that emerge directly from the brain stem, in contrast to spinal nerves which emerge from segments of the spinal cord.
Human cranial nerves are evolutionarily homologous to those found in many other vertebrates. Cranial...
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| x Vagus nerve |
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The vagus nerve (pronounced /ˈveɪɡəs/, us dict: vā′·gəs), also called pneumogastric nerve, cranial nerve X, the Wanderer or sometimes the Rambler, is the tenth of twelve (excluding CN0) paired cranial nerves. Upon leaving the medulla between the...
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| x Optic nerve |
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The optic nerve, also called cranial nerve II, transmits visual information from the retina to the brain.
The optic nerve is the second of twelve paired cranial nerves but is considered to be part of the central nervous system as it is derived from...
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| x Olfactory nerve |
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The olfactory nerve, or cranial nerve I, is the first of twelve cranial nerves.
The specialized olfactory receptor neurons of the olfactory nerve are located in the olfactory mucosa of the upper parts of the nasal cavity. The olfactory nerves do not...
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| x Abducent nerve |
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The abducens nerve or abducent nerve (the sixth cranial nerve, also called the sixth nerve, VI, or the do-nothing nerve) is a “somatic efferent” nerve that controls the movement of a single muscle, the lateral rectus muscle of the eye. Homologous...
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| x Facial nerve |
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The facial nerve is the seventh (VII) of twelve paired cranial nerves. It emerges from the brainstem between the pons and the medulla, and controls the muscles of facial expression, and taste to the anterior two-thirds of the tongue. It also...
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| x Oculomotor nerve |
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The oculomotor nerve is the third of twelve paired cranial nerves. It controls most of the eye's movement, constriction of the pupil, and maintains an open eyelid. (Note: cranial nerves IV and VI also participate in control of eye movement.)
The...
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| x Trochlear nerve |
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The trochlear nerve (the fourth cranial nerve, also called the fourth nerve, IV, or Layton's nerve in the UK) is a motor nerve (a “somatic efferent” nerve) that innervates a single muscle: the superior oblique muscle of the eye.
The trochlear nerve...
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| x Trigeminal nerve |
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The trigeminal nerve (the fifth cranial nerve, also called the fifth nerve, V, or Old Fivesy) is responsible for sensation in the face. Sensory information from the face and body is processed by parallel pathways in the central nervous system.
The...
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| x Vestibulocochlear nerve |
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The vestibulocochlear nerve (also known as the auditory or acoustic nerve) is the eighth of twelve cranial nerves, and is responsible for transmitting sound and equilibrium (balance) information from the inner ear to the brain.
This is the nerve...
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| x Glossopharyngeal nerve |
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The glossopharyngeal nerve is the ninth (IX) of twelve pairs of cranial nerves (24 nerves total). It exits the brainstem out from the sides of the upper medulla, just rostral (closer to the nose) to the vagus nerve.
There are a number of functions...
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| x Accessory nerve |
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In anatomy, the accessory nerve is a nerve that controls specific muscles of the neck. As a part of it was formerly believed to originate in the brain, it is considered a cranial nerve. Based on its location relative to other such nerves, it is...
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| x Hypoglossal nerve |
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The hypoglossal nerve is the twelfth cranial nerve (XII), leading to the tongue. The nerve arises from the hypoglossal nucleus and emerges from the medulla oblongata in the preolivary sulcus separating the olive and the pyramid. It then passes...
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| x Mandibular nerve |
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The mandibular nerve (V3) is the largest of the three branches of the trigeminal nerve.
It is made up of two roots:
The two roots (sensory and motor) exit the middle cranial fossa through the foramen ovale. The two roots then combine.
Immediately in...
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| x Supraorbital nerve |
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The supraorbital nerve is a terminal branch of the frontal nerve.
It passes through the supraorbital foramen, and gives off, in this situation, palpebral filaments to the upper eyelid. Additionally it supplies the conjunctiva of the eye, the frontal...
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| x Inferior alveolar nerve |
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The inferior alveolar nerve (sometimes called the inferior dental nerve) is a branch of the mandibular nerve, which is itself the third branch (V3) of the trigeminal nerve (cranial nerve V).
Before traversing the mandibular foramen, it first gives...
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| x Recurrent laryngeal nerve |
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The recurrent (inferior) laryngeal nerve is a branch of the vagus nerve (tenth cranial nerve) that supplies motor function and sensation to the larynx (voice box). It travels within the endoneurial sheath. It is the nerve of the 6 Branchial Arch.
It...
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| x Otic ganglion |
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The otic ganglion is a small, ovalshaped, flattened parasympathetic ganglion of a reddish-gray color, located immediately below the foramen ovale in the infratemporal fossa.
It is one of four parasympathetic ganglia of the head and neck. (The others...
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| x Pterygopalatine ganglion |
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The pterygopalatine ganglion (Synonym: ganglion pterygopalatinum, meckel's ganglion, nasal ganglion, sphenopalatine ganglion) is a parasympathetic ganglion found in the pterygopalatine fossa. It is one of four parasympathetic ganglia of the head and...
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| x Auriculotemporal nerve |
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The auriculotemporal nerve is a branch of the mandibular nerve that runs with the superficial temporal artery and vein, and provides sensory innervation to various regions on the side of the head.
The auriculotemporal nerve arises as two roots from...
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| x Chorda tympani |
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The chorda tympani is a nerve that branches from the facial nerve (cranial nerve VII) inside the facial canal, just before the facial nerve exits the skull via the stylomastoid foramen.
Chorda tympani is a branch of the facial nerve (the seventh...
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| x Alderman's nerve |
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The auricular branch of the vagus nerve is often termed the Alderman's nerve or Arnold's nerve. The latter name is an eponym for Friedrich Arnold.
It arises from the jugular ganglion, and is joined soon after its origin by a filament from the...
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| x Ciliary ganglion |
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The ciliary ganglion is a parasympathetic ganglion located in the posterior orbit. It measures 1–2 millimeters in diameter and contains approximately 2,500 neurons. Preganglionic axons from the Edinger-Westphal nucleus form synapses with these cells...
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| x Buccal nerve |
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The buccal nerve (also called the long buccal nerve,) is a nerve in the face. It is a branch of the mandibular nerve (which is itself a branch of the trigeminal nerve) and transmits sensory information from skin over the buccal membrane (in general,...
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| x Great petrosal nerve |
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The greater petrosal nerve is a nerve in the skull that branches from the facial nerve; it forms part of a chain of nerves that innervates the lacrimal gland. The fibres have synapses in the pterygopalatine ganglion.
The greater petrosal nerve is a...
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| x Cochlear nerve |
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The cochlear nerve (also auditory or acoustic nerve) is a nerve in the head that carries signals from the cochlea of the inner ear to the brain. It is part of the vestibulocochlear nerve, the 8th cranial nerve which is found in higher vertebrates;...
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| x Vestibular nerve |
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The vestibular nerve is one of the two branches of the Vestibulocochlear nerve (the cochlear nerve being the other). It goes to the semicircular canals via the vestibular ganglion. It receives positional information.
Axons of the vestibular nerve...
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| x Maxillary nerve |
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The maxillary nerve (V2) is one of the three branches of the trigeminal nerve, the fifth cranial nerve. It comprises the principal functions of sensation from the maxillary, nasal cavity, sinuses, the palate and subsequently that of the mid-face, ...
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| x Ophthalmic nerve |
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The ophthalmic nerve (V1) is one of the three branches of the trigeminal nerve, the fifth cranial nerve. Like the maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve, the ophthalmic branch carries sensory fibers only.
The ophthalmic nerve supplies branches to...
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| x Nasociliary nerve |
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The nasociliary nerve is a branch of the ophthalmic nerve. It is intermediate in size between the two other main branches of the ophthalmic nerve, the frontal nerve and the lacrimal nerve, and is more deeply placed.
The nasociliary nerve enters the...
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| x Geniculate ganglion |
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The geniculate ganglion (from Latin genu, for "knee") is an L-shaped collection of fibers and sensory neurons of the facial nerve located in the facial canal of the head. It receives fibers from the motor, sensory, and parasympathetic components of...
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| x Lingual nerve |
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The lingual nerve is a branch of the mandibular nerve (CN V3), itself a branch of the trigeminal nerve, which supplies sensory innervation to the tongue. It also carries fibers from the facial nerve, which return taste information from the anterior...
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| x Frontal nerve |
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The frontal nerve is the largest branch of the ophthalmic, and may be regarded, both from its size and direction, as the continuation of the nerve.
It enters the orbit through the superior orbital fissure, not running within the tendinous ring, and...
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| x Lacrimal nerve |
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The lacrimal nerve is the smallest of the three branches of the ophthalmic.
It sometimes receives a filament from the trochlear nerve, but this is possibly derived from the branch which goes from the ophthalmic to the trochlear nerve.
It passes...
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| x Supratrochlear nerve |
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The supratrochlear nerve is a branch of the frontal nerve, which itself comes from the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal (or fifth) cranial nerve. It is smaller than the nearby supraorbital nerve. It passes above the pulley of the Superior...
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| x Middle superior alveolar nerve |
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The middle superior alveolar nerve is a nerve that drops from the infraorbital portion of the maxillary nerve to supply the sinus mucosa, the roots of the maxillary premolars, and the mesiobuccal root of the first maxillary molar.
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| x Zygomatic nerve |
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The zygomatic nerve (temporomalar nerve; orbital nerve) is a branch of the maxillary nerve (a trigeminal nerve branch) that enters the orbit and helps to supply the skin over the zygomatic and temporal bones. The zygomatic nerve is not to be...
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| x Mental nerve |
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Mental nerve is a general somatic afferent (sensory) nerve which provides sensation to the anterior aspects of the chin and lower lip as well as the buccal gingivae of the mandibular anterior teeth and the premolars. It is a branch of the posterior...
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| x Superior laryngeal nerve |
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The superior laryngeal nerve is a branch of the vagus nerve. It arises from the middle of the ganglion nodosum and in its course receives a branch from the superior cervical ganglion of the sympathetic.
It descends, by the side of the pharynx,...
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| x Deep temporal nerves |
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The deep temporal nerves, branches of the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve, are two in number, anterior and posterior. They pass above the upper border of the pterygoideus externus and enter the deep surface of the temporalis.
This...
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| x Infratrochlear nerve |
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The infratrochlear nerve is given off from the nasociliary just before it enters the anterior ethmoidal foramen.
It runs forward along the upper border of the medial rectus, and is joined, near the pulley of the superior oblique, by a filament from...
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| x External nasal nerve |
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The external nasal branches (or external nasal nerve) are terminal branches of the anterior ethmoidal nerves (from the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal nerve, CN V), and provide sensory innervation to the skin of the side of the nose and of the...
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| x Nasopalatine nerve |
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One branch of the posterior superior nasal branches (trigeminal, maxillary branch), longer and larger than the others, is named the nasopalatine nerve (sometimes called the long sphenopalatine nerve).
It enters the nasal cavity through the...
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| x Zygomaticotemporal nerve |
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The zygomaticotemporal nerve or zygomaticotemporal branch (temporal branch) is derived from the maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve (Cranial nerve V). It runs along the lateral wall of the orbit in a groove in the zygomatic bone, receives a...
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| x Zygomaticofacial nerve |
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The zygomaticofacial nerve or zygomaticofacial branch of zygomatic nerve (malar branch) passes along the infero-lateral angle of the orbit, emerges upon the face through the zygomaticofacial foramen in the zygomatic bone, and, perforating the...
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| x Nervus spinosus |
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The meningeal branch of the mandibular nerve (recurrent branch, nervus spinosus) is a branch of the mandibular nerve that supplies the dura mater.
It enters the skull through the foramen spinosum with the middle meningeal artery.
It divides into two...
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| x Semilunar ganglion |
The Semilunar Ganglion (or Gasserian ganglion, or trigeminal ganglion) occupies a cavity (Meckel's cave) in the dura mater covering the trigeminal impression near the apex of the petrous part of the temporal bone.
It is somewhat crescentic in...
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| x Ethmoidal nerves |
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The ethmoidal nerves, which arise from the nasociliary nerve, supply the ethmoidal cells; the posterior branch leaves the orbital cavity through the posterior ethmoidal foramen and gives some filaments to the sphenoidal sinus. There are two...
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| x Long ciliary nerves |
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The long ciliary nerves, two or three in number, are given off from the nasociliary, as it crosses the optic nerve.
They accompany the short ciliary nerves from the ciliary ganglion, pierce the posterior part of the sclera, and running forward...
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| x Long root of the ciliary ganglion |
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The long root of the ciliary ganglion usually arises from the nasociliary between the two heads of the lateral rectus muscle. It is also called the nasociliary nerve's communicating branch to the ciliary ganglion.
It passes forward on the lateral...
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| x Mylohyoid nerve |
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The mylohyoid nerve (or nerve to mylohyoid) is a nerve that innervates the mylohyoid muscle and the anterior belly of the digastric muscle.
The mylohyoid nerve branches from the inferior alveolar nerve (a branch of the mandibular nerve, the third...
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| x External pterygoid nerve |
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External Pterygoid Nerve (or lateral pterygoid nerve): The nerve to the Pterygoideus externus frequently arises in conjunction with the buccinator nerve, but it may be given off separately from the anterior division of the mandibular nerve.
It...
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| x Petrous ganglion |
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The inferior ganglion of the glossopharyngeal nerve (petrous ganglion) is larger than the superior ganglion and is situated in a depression in the lower border of the petrous portion of the temporal bone.
This article was originally based on an...
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| x Jugular ganglion |
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The vagus presents a well-marked ganglionic enlargement, which is called the superior ganglion of the vagus nerve (jugular ganglion, ganglion of the root); to it the accessory nerve is connected by one or two filaments.
It is of a grayish color,...
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| x Submandibular ganglion |
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The submandibular ganglion (or submaxillary ganglion in older texts) is part of the human autonomic nervous system. It is one of four parasympathetic ganglia of the head and neck. (The others are the otic ganglion, pterygopalatine ganglion, and...
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| x Tympanic nerve |
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The tympanic nerve (nerve of Jacobson) is a branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve found near the ear.
It arises from the petrous ganglion, and ascends to the tympanic cavity through a small canal, the fossula petrosa/tympanic canaliculus, on the...
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| x Pulmonary branches of vagus nerve |
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The pulmonary branches of the vagus nerve can be divided into two groups: anterior and posterior.
The Anterior Bronchial Branches (rami bronchiales anteriores; anterior or ventral pulmonary branches), two or three in number, and of small size, are...
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| x Internal pterygoid nerve |
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The medial pterygoid nerve (or internal pterygoid nerve) is a branch of the mandibular nerve that innervates the medial pterygoid muscle, tensor veli palatini and tensor tympani.
The nerve to the medial pterygoid muscle is a slender branch of the...
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| x Short ciliary nerves |
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The branches of the ciliary ganglion are the short ciliary nerves.
These are delicate filaments, from six to ten in number, which arise from the forepart of the ganglion in two bundles connected with its superior and inferior angles; the lower...
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| x Middle meningeal nerve |
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The middle meningeal nerve (meningeal or dural branch) is given off from the maxillary nerve directly after its origin from the semilunar ganglion
It accompanies the middle meningeal artery and supplies the dura mater.
This article was originally...
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