Quick Facts
Origin: Mandibular nerve.
Course: Passes through the foramen spinosum to enter the skull.
Branches: Anterior and posterior branches.
Supply: Conveys general sense fibers from the dura of the middle cranial fossa, the mastoid air cells, and the cartilaginous auditory tube.
Related parts of the anatomy
Origin
The meningeal branch of the mandibular nerve is typically the first branch of the mandibular nerve. Unlike the meningeal branches of ophthalmic and maxillary nerves, which emerge while still intracranially, the meningeal branch of the mandibular nerve emerges extracranially, distal to the foramen ovale in the infratemporal fossa. Its sensory fibers have cell bodies located in the trigeminal ganglion (Standring, 2016).
Course
The meningeal branch of the mandibular nerve moves laterally to the entrance of the foramen spinosum. Together with the middle meningeal artery, the meningeal branch runs through the foramen spinosum to enter the skull.
Branches
The meningeal branch of the mandibular nerve gives rise to an anterior and a posterior branch. It also communicates with the meningeal branch of maxillary nerve via the anterior branch.
Supplied Structures
The meningeal branch of the mandibular nerve is a sensory nerve. It conveys general sense fibers from the dura of the middle cranial fossa, and particularly from the posterior half of the middle cranial fossa. It also conveys general sense fibers from the mastoid air cells and the cartilaginous auditory tube (Standring, 2016).
References
Standring, S. (2016) Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice. Elsevier Limited.
