title: The trigeminal nerve.
abstract: The trigeminal nerve is the largest of the cranial nerves, serving as a major conduit for sensory information from the head and neck and primarily providing motor innervation to the muscles of mastication. An understanding of the pathologic processes that may involve this nerve requires a detailed knowledge of its origin within the brain stem as well as its course intracranially. This article describes the neuroanatomy of the nerve and divides it into its various segments to provide a differential diagnosis of common and some uncommon pathologic processes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles 90033, USA.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Go
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Zee
mesh_terms: D001933:Brain Stem / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008579:Meningioma / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D011559:Pseudotumor Cerebri / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D014276:Trigeminal Nerve / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology; D014277:Trigeminal Neuralgia / Q000209:etiology*