ANATOMIC AND PATHOLOGIC ASPECTS OF THE TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA: A LITERATURE REVIEW FOR STUDENTS AND HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

作者:Luna Eloa Borges*; Almeida Graca Luiz Felipe; de Oliveira Silva Daniela Cristina; Berzin Fausto; Silva Zenon; Souza Gilmar da Cunha; Mitri Fabio Franceschini
来源:Bioscience Journal, 2010, 26(4): 661-674.

摘要

The trigeminal nerve has afferent (sensory) and efferent (motor) fibers, however the sensory ones are responsible for a disorder called trigeminal neuralgia. The purposed of this study is to correlate the anatomical aspects of the trigeminal nerve with the neuralgia's signs and symptoms, explaining its incidence, etiology and therapeutic management, besides relating unusual cases of this disease. It was performed a wide revision of the literature and it was identified the characteristics of the trigeminal neuralgia, regarding age and sex of the patient, besides its cause and appropriate treatment. The trigeminal neuralgia is characterized by hard and sudden pains, similar to electric discharges, being in the beginning confined to a branch, although it can irradiate to along the other divisions of the trigeminal nerve. These pains are begun by a quick touch in specific point in the skin of face. Generally is unilateral and more prevalent in the woman, starting from the fourth decade of life. The neuralgia attacks more frequently the mandibular nerve, soon afterwards the maxillary and less common the ophthalmic branch. A very rare condition is the simultaneous attack of the three trigeminal nerve branches. The cause is always unknown, however it can be related for anatomical variations, as much the own nerve as the adjacent structures, even neoplasias. Treatment is complex due to the difficulty of identification of the carrying mechanisms. In conclusion, the knowledge of the trigeminal nerve anatomy associated to the patient's anamnesis, signs and symptoms of the pathology, is indispensable to its differential diagnosis and appropriate therapeutic management.

  • 出版日期2010-8