Editing Trigeminal nerve (section)

{{Short description|Cranial nerve responsible for the face's senses and motor functions}}
{{Distinguish|text=other nerves that innervate the face, such as the [[facial nerve]]}}
{{Redirect|Trigeminal|the artery|Trigeminal artery}}
{{More footnotes|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox nerve
| Name        = Trigeminal nerve
| Latin       = nervus trigeminus
| Image       = Grant 1962 654.png
| Caption     = Schematic illustration of the trigeminal nerve and the organs (or structures) it supplies
| Width       = 300
| Image2      = Brain human normal inferior view with labels en.svg
| Caption2    = [[Anatomical terms of location#Superior and inferior|Inferior view]] of the [[human brain]], with cranial nerves labelled
| Innervates  = ''Motor:'' [[Muscles of mastication]], [[tensor tympani]], [[tensor veli palatini]], [[mylohyoid muscle|mylohyoid]], [[Digastric muscle#Anterior belly|anterior belly of the digastric]]<br/>''Sensory:'' [[Face]], [[mouth]], [[temporomandibular joint]]
| BranchFrom  =
| BranchTo    = [[Ophthalmic nerve]]<br/>[[Maxillary nerve]]<br/>[[Mandibular nerve]]
}}

{{Cranial nerves short}}

In [[neuroanatomy]], the '''trigeminal nerve''' ([[literal translation|lit.]] ''triplet'' nerve), also known as the '''fifth cranial nerve''', '''cranial nerve V''', or simply '''CN V''',<!--Each CN article, CN 0 plus CN I to CN XII, should not fail to have the standard, established synonyms at outset, nor be styled substantially differently from the others; do not change this aspect of any particular one of them without first discussing the same change for all of them.--> is a [[cranial nerve]] responsible for [[Sense|sensation]] in the [[face]] and [[motor functions]] such as [[biting]] and [[chewing]]; it is the most complex of the [[cranial nerves]]. Its name (''trigeminal'', {{ety|la|tri-|three||-geminus|twin}}<ref>[[American Heritage Dictionary]], 1969.</ref>) derives from each of the two nerves (one on each side of the [[pons]]) having three major branches: the [[ophthalmic nerve]] (V{{sub|1}}), the [[maxillary nerve]] (V{{sub|2}}), and the [[mandibular nerve]] (V{{sub|3}}). The ophthalmic and maxillary nerves are purely sensory, whereas the mandibular nerve supplies motor as well as sensory (or "[[cutaneous]]") functions.<ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Pazhaniappan N |title=The Trigeminal Nerve (CN V) |url=https://teachmeanatomy.info/head/cranial-nerves/trigeminal-nerve/ |publisher=TeachMeAnatomy |access-date=5 April 2021 |date=15 August 2020}}</ref> Adding to the complexity of this nerve is that [[Autonomic nervous system|autonomic nerve fibers]] as well as special [[sensory fibers]] ([[taste]]) are contained within it.

The motor division of the trigeminal nerve derives from the [[Basal plate (neural tube)|basal plate]] of the [[embryo]]nic [[pons]], and the sensory division originates in the [[cranial neural crest]]. Sensory information from the face and body is processed by parallel pathways in the [[central nervous system]].