The posterior ethmoidal nerve is a

nerve A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons). Nerves have historically been considered the basic units of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the Electrochemistry, electrochemical nerv ...

of the head. It is a branch of the

nasociliary nerve The nasociliary nerve is a branch of the ophthalmic nerve (CN V1) (which is in turn a branch of the trigeminal nerve (CN V)). It is intermediate in size between the other two branches of the ophthalmic nerve, the frontal nerve and lacrimal ner ...

(itself a branch of the ophthalmic nerve (CN V₁)). It provides sensory innervation to the

sphenoid sinus The sphenoid sinus is a paired paranasal sinus in the body of the sphenoid bone. It is one pair of the four paired paranasal sinuses.Illustrated Anatomy of the Head and Neck, Fehrenbach and Herring, Elsevier, 2012, page 64 The two sphenoid sinuse ...

and

ethmoid sinus The ethmoid sinuses or ethmoid air cells of the ethmoid bone are one of the four paired paranasal sinuses. Unlike the other three pairs of paranasal sinuses which consist of one or two large cavities, the ethmoidal sinuses entail a number of small ...

, and part of the dura mater in the

anterior cranial fossa The anterior cranial fossa is a depression in the floor of the cranial base which houses the projecting frontal lobes of the brain. It is formed by the orbital plates of the frontal, the cribriform plate of the ethmoid, and the small wings and ...

Structure

Origin

The posterior ethmoidal nerve is a branch of the

Course

It passes through the

posterior ethmoidal foramen Lateral to either olfactory groove are the internal openings of the anterior and posterior ethmoidal foramina (or canals). The posterior ethmoidal foramen opens at the back part of this margin under cover of the projecting lamina of the sphenoi ...

alongside the

posterior ethmoidal artery The posterior ethmoidal artery is an artery of the head which arises from the ophthalmic artery to supply the posterior ethmoidal air cells, and the meninges. It is smaller than the anterior ethmoidal artery. Anatomy Origin The posterior et ...

Branches

Within the

, it issues a branch to which innervates part of the dura mater. It gives branches to the

and the

Variation

The posterior ethmoidal nerve is absent in a significant proportion of people. This may be around 30%.

Function

The posterior ethmoidal nerve supplies sensation to the

and the

. It also supplies sensation to part of the dura mater in the

Other animals

The posterior ethmoidal nerve is present in other animals, including horses. Headshaking can sometimes be treated with

analgesia Pain management is an aspect of medicine and health care involving relief of pain (pain relief, analgesia, pain control) in various dimensions, from acute and simple to chronic and challenging. Most physicians and other health professionals ...

neurectomy A neurectomy, or nerve resection is a neurosurgical procedure in which a peripheral nerve is cut or removed to alleviate neuropathic pain or permanently disable some function of a nerve. The nerve is not intended to grow back. For chronic pain it ...

of the posterior ethmoidal nerve.

References

External links

* * () * http://www.dartmouth.edu/~humananatomy/figures/chapter_45/45-6.HTM {{Authority control Ophthalmic nerve