Quick Facts
Origin: Maxillary nerve.
Course: Follows the middle meningeal artery as it runs in the dura of the middle cranial fossa.
Branches: None.
Supply: Conveys general sensation from the dura of the middle cranial fossa.
Related parts of the anatomy
Origin
The meningeal branch of the maxillary nerve is the first branch of the maxillary nerve. It is given off just proximal to the foramen rotundum, while still intracranial.
Course
From its origin, the meningeal branch of the maxillary nerve runs laterally a very short distance to the foramen spinosum. Here it finds and follows the middle meningeal artery as this artery ascends and spreads throughout the dura of the middle cranial fossa.
Branches
There are no named branches.
Supplied Structures
The meningeal branch of the maxillary nerve is a sensory nerve that conveys general sensation from the dura of the middle cranial fossa. Its territory is roughly the same as that of the middle meningeal artery.
List of Clinical Correlates
—Headaches
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Maxillary Nerve
The maxillary nerve, or second division of the trigeminal, is a sensory nerve that crosses the pterygopalatine fossa, traverses the orbit in the infraorbital groove and canal in the floor of the orbit, and appears upon the face at the infraorbital foramen as the infraorbital nerve.
