Inferior alveolar nerve
| Inferior alveolar nerve | |
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Distribution of the maxillary and mandibular nerves, and the submaxillary ganglion. (Inferior alveolar visible at center left.)
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Mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve. (Inferior alveolar labeled at bottom right.)
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| Details | |
| From | mandibular nerve |
| To | mylohyoid, dental, incisive, and mental |
| Innervates | dental alveolus |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | nervus alveolaris inferior |
| TA | A14.2.01.089 |
| FMA | 53243 |
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Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy
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The inferior alveolar nerve (sometimes called the inferior dental nerve) is a branch of the mandibular nerve, which is itself the third branch (V3) of the trigeminal nerve (cranial nerve V).
The inferior alveolar nerve is a branch of the mandibular nerve. After branching from the mandibular nerve, the inferior alveolar nerve travels behind the lateral pterygoid muscle. It gives off a branch, the mylohyoid nerve, and then enters the mandibular foramen.
While in the mandibular canal within the mandible, it supplies the mandibular (lower) teeth (molars and second premolar) with sensory branches that form into the inferior dental plexus and give off small gingival and dental nerves to the teeth.
Anteriorly, the nerve gives off the mental nerve at about the level of the mandibular 2nd premolars, which exits the mandible via the mental foramen (supplying sensory branches to the chin and lower lip).
The inferior alveolar nerve continues anteriorly as the mandibular incisive nerve to innervate the mandibular canines and incisors.
The inferior alveolar nerves supply sensation to the lower teeth.
The mylohyoid nerve is a motor nerve supplying the mylohyoid and the anterior belly of the digastric.
Inferior nerve injury most commonly occurs during surgery including wisdom tooth, dental implant placement in the mandible, root canal treatment where tooth roots are close to the nerve canal in the mandible, deep dental local anaesthetic injections or orthognathic surgery. Trauma and related mandibular fractures are also often related to inferior alveolar nerve injuries.
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Wikipedia