Meningeal branch of maxillary nerve
Ramus meningeus nervi maxillaris
A small branch of the maxillary nerve, given off inside the skull, that supplies the dura mater of the front of the middle cranial fossa.
At a glance
- English
- Meningeal branch of maxillary nerve
- Latin (TA2)
- Ramus meningeus nervi maxillaris
- System
- Nerve
- Region
- Head
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the meningeal branch of maxillary nerve
This maxillary meningeal branch, sometimes called the middle meningeal nerve, is the only branch the maxillary division of the trigeminal nerve gives off inside the skull. It is a slender sensory twig that leaves the parent nerve close to its origin from the trigeminal ganglion, before the maxillary nerve passes into the foramen rotundum.
From there it runs a short way laterally on the floor of the middle cranial fossa and joins the frontal (anterior) branch of the middle meningeal artery, which it follows in the dura. Its territory is the dura mater lining the anterior part of the middle cranial fossa and the adjoining part of the side of the skull, an area that lies over the temporal pole of the brain.
It shares this work with a neighbour from the next division. The mandibular nerve gives its own meningeal branch, the nervus spinosus, which climbs back into the cranium by the foramen spinosum alongside the middle meningeal artery. That nerve splits into anterior and posterior branches that follow the two main divisions of the artery; its posterior branch also reaches the lining of the mastoid air cells, while its anterior branch connects with the maxillary meningeal branch. Together they cover much of the dura of the middle fossa, with the ophthalmic nerve supplying the dura of the anterior fossa and the tentorium.
Most of the brain itself has no pain receptors, but the dura and its vessels do, and these meningeal twigs of the trigeminal nerve are one of the routes by which headache is felt. Their link with the trigeminal system explains why pain from the middle cranial fossa dura is often felt in the temple, face or behind the eye. They are also relevant when the dura is opened or the middle meningeal artery is handled during operations on the skull.
Course and supply
- Arises from
- The maxillary nerve (V2) in the middle cranial fossa, near the trigeminal ganglion and before the foramen rotundum.
- Ends in
- Ends in the dura mater of the anterior middle cranial fossa, travelling with the frontal branch of the middle meningeal artery.
- Supplies
- Sensory to the dura mater of the anterior part of the middle cranial fossa, including pain from the dura and its vessels.
Anthromica
See the meningeal branch of maxillary nerve where it really sits, with every layer of the body around it.
- Every layer, one body. Peel from muscle to bone, nerve, vessel and organ, and turn it any way.
- English and Latin. Every structure named the way your exam names it.
- Quiz until it sticks. Short drills on the structures you keep missing.
Free to start. No card.
