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Information about Ophthalmic Nerve

Nerve: Ophthalmic nerve
Oblique section through the cavernous sinus.
Nerves of the orbit, and the ciliary ganglion. Side view.
Latinn. ophthalmicus
subject #200 887
Fromtrigeminal 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 its nasociliary branch exits the skull through the superior orbital fissure.

Branches

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.

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 As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated.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.

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Nerves of head and neck: the cranial nerves
I-IVolfactory • optic • oculomotor (superior branch, inferior branch) • trochlear
V: trigeminaltrigeminal ganglion • ophthalmic • maxillary • mandibular
VI: abducensno significant branches
VII: facialnervus 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: vestibulocochlearcochlear (striae medullares, lateral lemniscus) • vestibular (Scarpa's ganglion)
IX: glossopharyngealnucleus ambiguus • ganglia (superior, petrous) • tympanic (tympanic plexus, lesser petrosal) • carotid sinus • pharyngeal branches • pharyngeal plexus
X: vagusganglia (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-XIIaccessory • hypoglossal
The cavernous sinus (or lateral sellar compartment), within the human head, is a large collection of thin-walled veins creating a cavity bordered by the sphenoid bone and the temporal bone of the skull.
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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[1]. Preganglionic axons from the Edinger-Westphal nucleus form synapses with these cells.
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Latin}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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The trigeminal nerve (the fifth cranial nerve, also called the fifth nerve or simply V) is responsible for sensation in the face. It is similar to the spinal nerves C2–S5, which are responsible for sensation in the rest of the body.
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Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is a huge controlled vocabulary (or metadata system) for the purpose of indexing journal articles and books in the life sciences. Created and updated by the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), it is used by the MEDLINE/PubMed
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The trigeminal nerve (the fifth cranial nerve, also called the fifth nerve or simply V) is responsible for sensation in the face. It is similar to the spinal nerves C2–S5, which are responsible for sensation in the rest of the body.
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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. Although thirteen cranial nerves in humans fit this description, twelve are conventionally recognized.
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The maxillary nerve (superior maxillary nerve), or second division of the trigeminal, is a sensory nerve.

It is intermediate, both in position and size, between the ophthalmic nerve and the mandibular nerve.
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The cavernous sinus (or lateral sellar compartment), within the human head, is a large collection of thin-walled veins creating a cavity bordered by the sphenoid bone and the temporal bone of the skull.
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skull is a bony structure found in many animals which serves as the general framework for the head. The skull supports the structures of the face and protects the head against injury.

The skull can be subdivided into two parts: the cranium and the mandible.
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The superior orbital fissure is a foramen in the skull, although strictly it is more of a cleft, lying between the lesser and greater wings of the sphenoid bone.

Structures passing through


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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.
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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[1]. Preganglionic axons from the Edinger-Westphal nucleus form synapses with these cells.
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The posterior ethmoidal nerve is a branch of the nasociliary nerve.

It passes through the posterior ethmoidal foramen, with the posterior ethmoidal artery.

It carries sensory information from the sphenoid sinus and posterior ethmoidal air cells.
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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 between it and the choroid,
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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 the supratrochlear nerve.
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The anterior ethmoidal nerve is a nerve which provides sensory branches to the nasal cavity.[1]

See also

  • anterior ethmoidal artery
  • ethmoidal foramina
Specifically, innervates the septum of the nasal cavity.
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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.
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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, and runs forward between the Levator palpebræ superioris and the
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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.
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The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber, providing most of an eye's optical power.[1] Together with the lens, the cornea refracts light, and as a result helps the eye to focus, accounting for approximately
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The ciliary body is the circumferential tissue inside the eye composed of the ciliary muscle and ciliary processes.[1] It is part of the uveal tract—the layer of tissue which provides most of the nutrients in the eye.
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In anatomy, the iris (plural irises or irides) is the most visible part of the eye of vertebrates, including humans. The following describes the iris of vertebrates, not the independently evolved iris found in some cephalopods.
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The lacrimal glands are paired glands, one for each eye, that secrete the aqueous layer of the tear film. They are situated in the upper, outer portion of each orbit.

Anatomy


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The conjunctiva is a membrane that covers the sclera (white part of the eye) and lines the inside of the eyelids.

Function

It helps lubricate the eye by producing mucus and tears, although a smaller volume of tears than the lacrimal gland.
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The mucous membranes (or mucosae; singular: mucosa) are linings of mostly endodermal origin, covered in epithelium, and are involved in absorption and secretion. They line various body cavities that are exposed to the external environment and internal organs.
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The nasal cavity (or nasal fossa) is a large air-filled space above and behind the nose in the middle of the face.

Function

The nasal cavity conditions the air to be received by the areas of the respiratory tract.
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An eyelid is a thin fold of skin and muscle that covers and protects an eye. With the exception of the prepuce and the labia minora, it has the thinnest skin of the whole body. The levator palpebrae superioris muscle retracts the eyelid to "open" the eye.
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The eyebrow is an area of coarse skin hairs above the eye that follows the shape of the brow ridges.

Functions

The main function of the eyebrow is to prevent moisture, mostly salty sweat and rain, from flowing into the eye, an organ critical to sight.
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