Frontal nerve

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Nerve: Frontal nerve
Dissection showing origins of right ocular muscles, and nerves entering by the superior orbital fissure.
Nerves of the orbit. Seen from above.
Latin	nervus frontalis
Gray's	subject #200 887
Innervates
From	Ophthalmic nerve
To	supratrochlear nerve and the supraorbital nerve
MeSH	[1]

The frontal nerve is the largest branch of the ophthalmic, and may be regarded, both from its size and direction, as the continuation of the nerve.

It enters the orbit through the superior orbital fissure, and runs forward between the Levator palpebræ superioris and the periosteum.

Midway between the apex and base of the orbit it divides into two branches, supratrochlear nerve and supraorbital nerve.

Functions

It provides the sensory innervations for the skin of the forehead, mucosa of frontal sinus, and the skin of the upper lip.

Additional images

Nerves of the orbit, and the ciliary ganglion. Side view.

External links

• SUNY Labs 29:02-0103
• Dictionary at eMedicine Frontal+nerve
• Norman/Georgetown lesson3 (orbit2)
• Norman/Georgetown cranialnerves (V)

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.

Nerves of head and neck: the cranial nerves

I-IV: olfactory - optic - oculomotor - trochlear

V: trigeminal: trigeminal ganglion
V1: ophthalmic: lacrimal - frontal (supratrochlear, supraorbital) - nasociliary (long root of ciliary, long ciliary, infratrochlear, posterior ethmoidal, anterior ethmoidal) - ciliary ganglion (short ciliary)
V2: maxillary: middle meningeal - in the pterygopalatine fossa (zygomatic, zygomaticotemporal, zygomaticofacial, sphenopalatine, posterior superior alveolar)
in the infraorbital canal/infraorbital nerve (middle superior alveolar, anterior superior alveolar)
on the face (inferior palpebral, external nasal, superior labial, infraorbital plexus) - pterygopalatine ganglion (deep petrosal, nerve of pterygoid canal)
branches of distribution (palatine, nasopalatine, pharyngeal)
V3: mandibular: nervus spinosus - medial pterygoid - anterior (masseteric, deep temporal, buccal, lateral pterygoid)
posterior (auriculotemporal, lingual, inferior alveolar, mylohyoid, mental) - otic ganglion - submandibular ganglion

VI: abducens

VII: facial: nervus intermedius - geniculate - inside facial canal (greater petrosal, nerve to the stapedius, chorda tympani)
at exit from stylomastoid foramen (posterior auricular, digastric - stylohyoid)
on face (temporal, zygomatic, buccal, mandibular, cervical)

VIII: vestibulocochlear: cochlear (striae medullares, lateral lemniscus) - vestibular

IX: glossopharyngeal: fasciculus solitarius - nucleus ambiguus - ganglia (superior, petrous) - tympanic - carotid sinus

X: vagus: ganglia (jugular, nodose) - Alderman's nerve - in the neck (pharyngeal branch, superior laryngeal ext and int, recurrent laryngeal)
in the thorax (pulmonary branches, esophageal plexus) - in the abdomen (gastric plexuses, celiac plexus, gastric plexus)

XI: accessory XII: hypoglossal