Nucleus Mesencephalicus Nervi Trigemini in Human Adult

Abstract

The nucleus mesencephalicus n. trigemini in man consists of many roundish sensory nerve cells with very few processes and a small number of small-sized vegetative nerve cells, in very rare cases containing wandering motor cells presumably from the nucleus n. trochlearis.
The nerve bundle connected with this nucleus is composed of thick medullated fibres and thin unmedullated fibres. The superior fibres, which finally merge with the fasciculus longitudinalis medialis, seem to be represented by the long processes of the nerve cells in this nucleus, i.e. sensory and vegetative fibres, while the inferior fibres, which finally attain the outside of the motor nucleus n. trigemini, apparently consist of sensory fibres coming into the nucleus mesencephalicus from the ganglion Gasseri, and vegetative nerve fibres either from the vegetative cells in this nucleus or other external vegetative fibres running into the nucleus.