Medial pterygoid nerve
The medial pterygoid nerve (nerve to medial pterygoid,[1] or internal pterygoid nerve) is a nerve of the head. It is a branch of the mandibular nerve (CN V3). It supplies the medial pterygoid muscle, the tensor veli palatini muscle, and the tensor tympani muscle.
| Medial pterygoid nerve | |
|---|---|
 Mandibular division of the trigeminus nerve. (Internal pterygoid nerve visible but not labeled.) | |
 Mandibular division of trifacial nerve, seen from the middle line. Nerve to medial pterygoid labeled at bottom. | |
| Details | |
| From | Mandibular nerve |
| Innervates | Medial pterygoid, tensor veli palatini, tensor tympani |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | nervus pterygoideus internus, nervus pterygoideus medialis |
| TA98 | A14.2.01.066 |
| TA2 | 6250 |
| FMA | 53056 |
| Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy | |
Structure
Origin
The medial pterygoid nerve is a slender branch of the mandibular nerve (CN V3) (itself a branch of the trigeminal nerve (CN V)).[1]
Course
It passes through the otic ganglion (without synapsing).[2] It penetrates the deep surface of the medial pterygoid muscle. It issues 1-2 twigs which traverse the otic ganglion (without synapsing) to reach and innervate the tensor tympani muscle, and tensor veli palatini muscle.[1]
Distribution
The medial pterygoid nerve supplies the medial pterygoid muscle, tensor tympani muscle, and tensor veli palatini muscle (via the nerve to tensor veli palatini).[1]
The tensor veli palati muscle is the only of the five paired skeletal muscles to the soft palate not innervated by the pharyngeal plexus.
References
- Standring, Susan (2020). Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice (42th ed.). New York. p. 680. ISBN 978-0-7020-7707-4. OCLC 1201341621.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Barral, Jean-Pierre; Croibier, Alain (2009). "17 - Mandibular nerve". Manual Therapy for the Cranial Nerves. Churchill Livingstone. pp. 139–146. doi:10.1016/B978-0-7020-3100-7.50020-3. ISBN 978-0-7020-3100-7.