Maxillary nerve (V2)

Nervus maxillaris

NervousNervesHeadLeft and right

View left in 3D View right in 3D

What it is
The middle, sensory division. It leaves the skull through the foramen rotundum, crosses the pterygopalatine fossa, runs forward in the floor of the orbit as the infraorbital nerve and emerges below the eye at the infraorbital foramen; branches drop to the upper teeth.
Function
Sensation from the cheek, lower eyelid, side of the nose, upper lip, upper teeth and gums, palate, maxillary sinus and nasal cavity.
Size
About 2.5 mm thick; ~5 cm from ganglion to cheek
Clinical note
A blow-out fracture of the orbit floor bruises the infraorbital nerve, leaving the cheek and upper lip numb. Dentists anaesthetise its alveolar branches for upper-tooth work.

Part of Trigeminal ganglion

Nearby nervous structures Abducens nerve (CN VI), Amygdala, Facial nerve, terminal branches, Glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX), Hypoglossal nerve (CN XII), Mandibular nerve (V3), Oculomotor nerve (CN III), Olfactory nerve (CN I), Ophthalmic nerve (V1), Optic nerve (CN II), intracranial part