134 INNERVATION. [CHAP. XXI. 



The ophthalmic, or lenticular, or ciliary ganglion is found in the 

 orbit, situate on the outer side of the optic nerve, a little way be- 

 fore its entrance into the eye, enveloped in soft fat. It is a small 

 quadrangular ganglion, of a reddish colour, not unlike a pellet of 

 fat, for which it may be very readily mistaken by an inexperienced 

 dissector. 



Numerous nerves proceed from the anterior angles of this gan- 

 glion to the eyeball. These are the ciliary nerves, which have been 

 already described, p. 40. 



The ophthalmic ganglion is connected with the third nerve, and 

 with the nasal branch of the ophthalmic division of the fifth. The 

 branch of communication with the third nerve is a short thick 

 nerve which comes from the inferior branch of that nerve : it is call- 

 ed by descriptive anatomists, the short root of the ganglion. From 

 the nasal nerve proceeds the long root, a long and very delicate 

 nerve, which attaches itself to the superior posterior angle of the 

 ganglion. 



We have not examined by the microscope the constitution of 

 these branches of connection with the third and nasal; but it is 

 not uninteresting to notice that several anatomists have remarked 

 in reference to them, that the place of each is occasionally supplied 

 by two, which may answer to the two connecting nerves already 

 noticed, in the dorsal portion of the sympathetic. 



By means of a third filament called by some the middle root f 

 this ganglion is brought into connexion with the cavernous or 

 carotid plexus from the superior cervical ganglion. 



The spheno -palatine ganglion is situate in the ptery go-maxillary 

 fossa; it is a small, somewhat triangular, ganglion connected with 

 the infra-orbital nerve, at its crossing over the spheno-palatine 

 fissure, to pass along the floor of the orbit. This connexion is 

 affected by two or three short nerves called commonly the spheno- 

 palatine branches of the infra-orbital nerve. 



From this ganglion proceed, first, palatine nerves, which are three 

 in number, (anterior, middle, and posterior,) which pass through the 

 posterior palatine canal, to be distributed to the mucous membrane 

 of the hard and soft palate, and also to the nasal mucous mem- 

 brane. Secondly, nasal branches, described by Scarpa, which enter 

 the nose through the spheno-palatine foramen, and distribute branches 

 to the spongy bones, and to the septum. One of these, the naso- 

 palatine nerve, passes obliquely downwards and forwards, along 

 the septum, and enters a canal in front of the foramen incisivum 

 through which it passes to subdivide in the mucous membrane of 



