Trigeminal Motor Nucleus

Authors

Affiliations

Nathaniel Yomogida, B.S., SPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy

B.S. in Kinesiology

Chloë Kerstein, B.S., SPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy

B.A. in Neuroscience

Functional columns of brainstem sensory and motor cranial nerve nuclei (from Blumenfield Figure 12.5¹)

Anatomy

• “The motor nucleus is medial to the principal sensory nucleus”²
• “Fibers from this nucleus exit from the brain stem medial to the entering sensory root, pass underneath the trigeminal ganglion without synapse, and become incorporated in the mandibular division”²

Function

Bite modulation

“Axons from the mesencephalic nucleus project to the motor nucleus, completing a reflex arc in modulating the degree of bite”²

References

1.

Blumenfeld H. Neuroanatomy Through Clinical Cases. 3rd ed. Oxford university press; 2022.

2.

Joo W, Yoshioka F, Funaki T, Mizokami K, Rhoton AL. Microsurgical anatomy of the trigeminal nerve. Clinical Anatomy. 2014;27(1):61-88. doi:10.1002/ca.22330