Ophthalmic nerve

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Nerve: Ophthalmic nerve
Oblique section through the cavernous sinus.
Nerves of the orbit, and the ciliary ganglion. Side view.
Latin	n. ophthalmicus
Gray's	subject #200 887
From	trigeminal nerve
MeSH	Ophthalmic+Nerve

The ophthalmic nerve 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 passes through the cavernous sinus and exits the skull through the superior orbital fissure.

Contents 1 Branches 2 Path 3 Additional images 4 External links

[edit] Branches

• Nasociliary nerve
  • sensory root of ciliary ganglion
  • posterior ethmodial nerve
  • long ciliary nerve
  • infratrochlear nerve
  • anterior ethmoidal nerve
• lacrimal nerve
• frontal nerve
  • supratrochlear nerve
  • supraorbital nerve

[edit] Path

The ophthalmic nerve supplies branches to the cornea, ciliary body, and iris; to the lacrimal gland and conjunctiva; to the part of the mucous membrane of the nasal cavity; and to the skin of the eyelids, eyebrow, forehead, and nose.

It is the smallest of the three divisions of the trigeminal, and arises from the upper part of the semilunar ganglion as a short, flattened band, about 2.5 cm. long, which passes forward along the lateral wall of the cavernous sinus, below the oculomotor and trochlear nerves; just before entering the orbit, through the superior orbital fissure, it divides into three branches, lacrimal, frontal, and nasociliary.

The ophthalmic nerve is joined by filaments from the cavernous plexus of the sympathetic, and communicates with the oculomotor, trochlear, and abducent nerves; it gives off a recurrent filament which passes between the layers of the tentorium.

[edit] Additional images

Nerves of the orbit. Seen from above.

Dermatome distribution of the trigeminal nerve

Pathways in the Ciliary Ganglion.

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.

[edit] External links

• MedEd at Loyola GrossAnatomy/h_n/cn/cn1/cnb1.htm
• Atlas of anatomy at UMich eye_33
• Norman/Georgetown cranialnerves (V)

v • d • e Nerves of head and neck: the cranial nerves

I-IV: olfactory - optic - oculomotor (superior branch, inferior branch) - trochlear V: trigeminal: trigeminal ganglion V1: ophthalmic: lacrimal - frontal (supratrochlear, supraorbital) - nasociliary (long root of ciliary, long ciliary, infratrochlear, posterior ethmoidal, anterior ethmoidal) - ciliary ganglion (short ciliary) V2: maxillary: middle meningeal - in the pterygopalatine fossa (zygomatic, zygomaticotemporal, zygomaticofacial, sphenopalatine, posterior superior alveolar) in the infraorbital canal/infraorbital nerve (middle superior alveolar, anterior superior alveolar) on the face (inferior palpebral, external nasal, superior labial, infraorbital plexus) - pterygopalatine ganglion (deep petrosal, nerve of pterygoid canal) branches of distribution (greater palatine, lesser palatine, nasopalatine, pharyngeal) V3: mandibular: meningeal - medial pterygoid - anterior (masseteric, deep temporal, buccal, lateral pterygoid) posterior (auriculotemporal, lingual, inferior alveolar, mylohyoid, mental) - otic ganglion - submandibular ganglion VI: abducens VII: facial: nervus intermedius - geniculate - inside facial canal (greater petrosal, nerve to the stapedius, chorda tympani) at exit from stylomastoid foramen (posterior auricular, digastric - stylohyoid) on face (temporal, zygomatic, buccal, mandibular, cervical) VIII: vestibulocochlear: cochlear (striae medullares, lateral lemniscus) - vestibular (Scarpa's ganglion) IX: glossopharyngeal: nucleus ambiguus - ganglia (superior, petrous) - tympanic (tympanic plexus, lesser petrosal) - carotid sinus - pharyngeal branches - pharyngeal plexus X: vagus: ganglia (jugular, nodose) - Alderman's nerve - in the neck (pharyngeal branch, superior laryngeal ext and int, recurrent laryngeal) in the thorax (pulmonary branches, esophageal plexus) - in the abdomen (gastric plexuses, celiac plexus, gastric plexus) XI: accessory XII: hypoglossal