The mandibular nerve gives off the following branches:

Root

It is made up of two roots:

• a large sensory root proceeding from the inferior angle of the trigeminal ganglion.
• a small motor root (the motor part of the trigeminal), which passes beneath the ganglion, and unites with the sensory root, just after its exit through the foramen ovale.^[1]

Path

The two roots (sensory and motor) exit the middle cranial fossa through the foramen ovale. The two roots then combine.

Immediately in the infratemporal fossa beneath the base of the skull, the nerve gives off two branches from its medial side: a recurrent branch (nervus spinosus) and the nerve to the medial pterygoid muscle. The mandibular nerve then divides into two trunks, an anterior and a posterior.

Branche

Branches from the main trunk (except nervus spinosus) and the posterior division.

The mandibular nerve gives off the following branches:

• From the main trunk of the nerve (before the division)
  • muscular branches, which are efferent nerves for the medial pterygoid, tensor tympani, and tensor veli palatini muscles (motor)^[2]
  • meningeal branch (a sensory nerve)
• From the anterior division
  • masseteric nerve (motor)
  • deep temporal nerves, anterior and posterior (motor)
  • buccal nerve (a sensory nerve)
  • lateral pterygoid nerve (motor)

Branches from the posterior and anterior divisions (except lateral pterygoid nerve)

• From the posterior division
  • auriculotemporal nerve (a sensory nerve)
  • lingual nerve (a sensory nerve)
  • inferior alveolar nerve (a sensory nerve)
  • motor branch to mylohyoid and anterior belly of digastric muscles (mylohyoid nerve)

To remember the sensory branches of V3

• B - Buccal n. (should be long buccal n. because buccal n. is the motor branch off of CN VII)
• A - Auriculotemporal n.
• I - Inferior Alveolar n.
• L - Lingual n.

Supplie

The mandibular nerve innervates:^[1]

• mylohyoid muscle and anterior belly of digastric muscle
• mucous membrane of the anterior two-thirds of the tongue
• the inside of the cheek (the buccal mucosa)
• teeth and mucoperiosteum of mandibular teeth
• skin of the temporal region
• auricula
• lower lip, and chin
• Muscles of mastication
• the muscles tensor tympani and tensor veli palatini

Mandibular nerve

See also

• Ophthalmic nerve
• Maxillary nerve
• Marginal mandibular branch of facial nerve