Overview

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a pain disorder of the trigeminal nerve. Trigeminal neuralgia is also known a as tic douloureux. The trigeminal nerve – also called the 5th cranial nerve – supplies feeling and sensation to the face, mouth, and the front half of the scalp. It also controls the muscles involved in chewing. The trigeminal nerve has three major branches (Figure 1): Ophthalmic nerve – provides sensation to the eye, forehead, and the front portion of the nose (see the area shaded blue). Maxillary...More