Quick Facts
The pulpal nerves of the mandibular teeth are sensory nerves that transmit sensation to the inferior alveolar nerve.
Related parts of the anatomy
Structure and/or Key Feature(s)
Dental pulp has an extensive innervation network consisting of unmyelinated postganglionic vasoconstrictor sympathetic nerve fibers, and myelinated and unmyelinated sensory nerve fibers. Sensory nerve fibers that arise from the inferior alveolar nerve (specific to mandibular first molar) and that longitudinally traverse the pulp are known as pulpal sensory nerves. The pulpal sensory nerves subsequently branch into the subodontoblastic plexus in the pulp cavity (Standring, 2016).
Anatomical Relations
The pulpal sensory nerves travel longitudinally through the pulp and ramify as the subodontoblastic nerve plexus in the pulp cavity (Standring, 2016).
Function
The pulpal sensory nerves transmit pain signals from the subodontoblastic nerve plexus of Raschkow to the trigeminal ganglion via the inferior alveolar nerve (Standring, 2016).
References
Standring, S. (2016) Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice. Gray's Anatomy Series 41 edn.: Elsevier Limited.
