Lessons from the trigeminal nerve

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My parents have always been my guide despite pressure from peers. Most especially my mother, she would make me understand the fact that the future offers so many things for me if only I endure today. “Be a village boy today to be able to claim a city manship in future” as she use to say. The wisdom of her words never really came to me until now that I saw those of my peers who were wayward in their youth and what most of them have become.

Another wise counsel for me in my life was in my pre-clinical school when I studied the anatomy of the trigeminal nerve. Trigeminal nerve is one of the twelve cranial nerves in the human body. It carries the sensory information from most of the face, as well as motor supply to the muscle of mastication, tensor tympani in the middle ear and muscle in the floor of the mouth such as mylohyoid and anterior belly of digastric. It is named trigeminal because it splits into three nerves; the Ophthalmic (V1), the Maxillary (V2) and the Mandibular (V3).

The Ophthalmic (V1), the Maxillary (V2) and the Mandibular (V3) exit the cranium through different foramina in the skull; superior orbital fissure, foramen rotundum and foramen ovale respectively. However, before supplying any structure in the head and neck region on their exit from the foramina, they gave a branch to supply the brain which is their source; The tentorial nerve (a meningeal branch), maxillary recurrent meningeal branch and mandibular recurrent meningeal branch of the ophthalmic, maxillary and mandibular nerve respectively.  I quickly remember one adage that says “The River that forgets its source will dry off”. Ordinary nerve in the body as the nature wants it did not forget its source and also realizes that the first thing in life is to appreciate once source and pay back.

One good advice here; a river that fails to acknowledge its source will dry off, according to the old adage. If you haven’t realized this, please do, if you already ventured into it, please continue. Appreciate your parent for what they have done in your life. They are what you are and what you will become. Failure to do this you may regret it.

 

 

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