title: The pterygopalatine ganglion and its role in various pain syndromes: from anatomy to clinical practice.
abstract: The postsynaptic fibers of the pterygopalatine or sphenopalatine ganglion (PPG or SPG) supply the lacrimal and nasal glands. The PPG appears to play an important role in various pain syndromes including headaches, trigeminal and sphenopalatine neuralgia, atypical facial pain, muscle pain, vasomotor rhinitis, eye disorders, and herpes infection. Clinical trials have shown that these pain disorders can be managed effectively with sphenopalatine ganglion blockade (SPGB). In addition, regional anesthesia of the distribution area of the SPG sensory fibers for nasal and dental surgery can be provided by SPGB via a transnasal, transoral, or lateral infratemporal approach. To arouse the interest of the modern-day clinicians in the use of the SPGB, the advantages, disadvantages, and modifications of the available methods for blockade are discussed.▪
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, University of Athens, Athens, Greece. mapian@med.uoa.gr
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piagkou
authors.forename: Theano
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Demesticha
authors.forename: Theodore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Troupis
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vlasis
authors.forename: Panayiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Skandalakis
authors.forename: Aggeliki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Makri
authors.forename: Antonios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mazarakis
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lappas
authors.forename: Giannoulis
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Piagkos
authors.forename: Elizabeth O
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D005156:Facial Neuralgia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005726:Ganglia, Parasympathetic / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D059387:Sphenopalatine Ganglion Block / Q000379:methods*