Mandibular nerve (V3)

Nervus mandibularis

NervousNervesHeadLeft and right

View left in 3D View right in 3D

What it is
The lowest and only mixed division. It drops through the foramen ovale into the infratemporal fossa and splits into the inferior alveolar nerve (which runs inside the jaw bone and exits at the chin as the mental nerve), the lingual nerve to the tongue, the auriculotemporal nerve to the temple, and motor branches to the chewing muscles.
Function
Sensation from the lower lip, chin, lower teeth, front two-thirds of the tongue, cheek lining and temple; motor to masseter, temporalis, pterygoids and the mylohyoid.
Size
Trunk about 3-4 mm thick; inferior alveolar nerve ~7 cm
Clinical note
The inferior alveolar block at the mandibular foramen is the standard dental anaesthetic for lower teeth; it numbs the lip and chin too, and a misplaced needle can hit the lingual nerve.

Part of Trigeminal ganglion

Nearby nervous structures Abducens nerve (CN VI), Amygdala, Facial nerve (CN VII), trunk, Facial nerve, terminal branches, Glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX), Hypoglossal nerve (CN XII), Maxillary nerve (V2), Oculomotor nerve (CN III), Optic nerve (CN II), intracranial part, Trochlear nerve (CN IV)