Area of distribution of the three branches of the trigeminal nerve
The trigeminal nerve (cranial nerve V) has three primary branches: the ophthalmic (V1), maxillary (V2), and mandibular (V3). Each of these branches has sub-branches, which correspond to a fairly specific part of the jaw and face.
When a dentist injects a nerve block (anesthetic) into the jaw to perform dental procedures, they know exactly what tertiary branch of the trigeminal they’re trying to hit - however, as demonstrated on the right-hand side, there’s a lot of variation between individuals, especially in the dentally-relevant nerves!
The most commonly performed nerve block is blocking of the the inferior alveolar nerve (a branch of the mandibular nerve), which numbs the mandible on one side, including the teeth, lip, and parts of the tongue. When the teeth of the upper jaw (maxilla) must be worked on, the nerve block often feels more localized - as the place where the maxillary (V2) nerve branches apart is much more difficult to reach with a needle, the sub-branches are generally blocked, instead.Atlas of Applied Topographical Human Anatomy. J. Howell Evans, 1906.
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