PHYSIOLOGY OF THE

MAXILLOFACIAL
REGION
 Cranial nerves
• Cranial nerves are nerves that emerge
directly from the brain, in contrast
to spinal nerves, which emerge from
segments of the spinal cord. In humans,
there are traditionally twelve pairs of
cranial nerves (although an additional
anterior pair of nerves, numbered 0, also
exists). The first three pairs (including
nerve 0) emerge from the cerebrum; the
remaining ten pairs emerge from
the brainstem.
Sensory Branches of
the Trigeminal Nerve
• Trigeminal means three twins, and the sensory
distribution of the trigeminal nerve in the face is
divided into three regions, each supplied by a branch
of the nerve. The three branches—ophthalmic,
maxillary, and mandibular—arise directly from the
trigeminal ganglion, which serves the same function
as the dorsal root ganglia of the spinal nerves. Only
the mandibular branch has motor axons, which
bypass the trigeminal ganglion, much like the ventral
root of a spinal nerve bypasses a dorsal root ganglion.
• Conveys sensations (touch, pain, pressure etc.) from
skin of the head (face and scalp) and mucosa of
cavities in the head. Responsible for consciously
perceived pain emanating from the head: toothache,
headache and sinus pain.
Trigeminal Nucleus
 PHYSIOLOGY OF
VESTIBULOCOCHLEAR
NERVE
 Physiology of Cranial
Nerve XI - Accessory
Nerve
Hypoglossal nerve
• A tooth (plural teeth) is a small, calcified,
whitish structure found in
the jaws (or mouths) of
many vertebrates and used to break
down food. Some animals,
particularly carnivores, also use teeth for
hunting or for defensive purposes. The
roots of teeth are covered by gums. Teeth
are not made of bone, but rather of
multiple tissues of varying density and
hardness. The cellular tissues that
ultimately become teeth originate from
the embryonic germ layer, the ectoderm
The developing tooth bud
• Cap stage
Histologic slide of tooth
in early bell stage.
Histologic slide of tooth
in late bell stage.
• The developing tooth bud
• One of the earliest steps in the formation of a tooth
that can be seen microscopically is the distinction
between the vestibular lamina and the dental lamina.
The dental lamina connects the developing tooth bud
to the epithelial layer of the mouth for a significant
time.
• Tooth development is commonly divided into the
following stages: the bud stage, the cap, the bell, and
finally maturation. The staging of tooth development
is an attempt to categorize changes that take place
along a continuum; frequently it is difficult to decide
what stage should be assigned to a particular
developing tooth. This determination is further
complicated by the varying appearance of different
histologic sections of the same developing tooth,
which can appear to be different stages.
 Histologic slide of
developing hard tissues.
• Hard tissues, including enamel and dentin, develop
during the next stage of tooth development. This
stage is called the crown, or maturation, stage by
some researchers. Important cellular changes
occur at this time. In prior stages, all of the inner
enamel epithelium cells were dividing to increase
the overall size of the tooth bud, but rapid
dividing, called mitosis, stops during the crown
stage at the location where the cusps of the
teeth form. The first mineralized hard tissues
form at this location. At the same time, the inner
enamel epithelial cells change in shape from
cuboidal to columnar. The nuclei of these cells
move closer to the stratum intermedium and away
from the dental papilla.
Histologic slide of tooth.
Note the tubular
appearance of dentin.
Tooth development
Histologic slide of tooth
erupting into the mouth.
 ANATOMICAL, CLINICAL STRUCTURE
AND FUNCTION OF DIFFERENT GROUPS
TEETH