Supratrochlear nerve

Supratrochlear nerve

Sensory areas of the head, showing the general distribution of the three divisions of the fifth nerve. (Supratrochlear nerve labeled at upper left.)

Nerves of the orbit. Seen from above. (Supratrochlear nerve visible near top.)
Details
From Frontal nerve
Identifiers
Latin nervus supratrochlearis
TA A14.2.01.024
FMA 52642

Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy

In human cranial neuroanatomy, the supratrochlear nerve is a branch of the frontal nerve, which itself comes from the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal (or fifth) cranial nerve. It is smaller than the nearby supraorbital nerve. It passes above the pulley of the Superior oblique muscle, and gives off a descending filament that joins the infratrochlear branch of the nasociliary nerve.

The supratrochlear nerve then exits the orbit between the pulley of the superior oblique and the supraorbital foramen, curves up on to the forehead close to the bone, and ascends beneath the Corrugator supercilii and Frontalis muscles. It then divides into branches which pierce these muscles and supplies the following areas:

Etymology

Supratrochlear means "above the trochlea". The term trochlea means "pulley" in Latin. Specifically, the trochlea referred to is a loop inside the orbit of the eye, through which the tendon of the superior oblique muscle passes.

Additional images

See also

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)



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