FIFTH PAIR OF NERVES. 



287 



The second, the posterior, little palatine 

 nerve, descends at first between the external 

 pterygoid muscle and the posterior wall of the 

 antrum, then enters the canal, and escapes 

 inferiorly external to the former; it divides 

 into two filaments, one of which is distributed 

 to the soft palate, the other to the tonsils and 

 arches of the palate. 



Those branches are accompanied by minute 

 branches of the palatine artery. 



The internal branches vary in number from 

 three to five; they arise from the inner surface 

 of the ganglion, run directly inward, posterior 

 to the nasal branch of the internal maxillary 

 artery, toward the spheno-palatine foramen, 

 which they immediately reach ; pass through 

 the foramen, perforating the structure by which 

 it is closed, and enter the nostril, and thus 

 attach the ganglion closely to the foramen : 

 at their entrance into the nostril they are situate 

 before and beneath the anterior wall of the 

 sphenoidal sinus, at the back part of the su- 

 perior meatus, and immediately above the 

 posterior extremity of the middle turbinate 

 bone. 



They are distinguishable, according to the 

 majority of descriptions, into two sets; one 

 destined to the outer wall of the nostril and 

 denominated by Meckel anterior superior 

 nasal, in contradistinction to branches of 

 the Vidian nerve, which he has designated 

 " posterior superior nasal," and another con- 

 nected with the septum. A third destination 

 has been assigned to them by Arnold, accord- 

 ing to whom a branch derived either from one 

 of the nerves of the septum, or originally from 

 the ganglion itself, is distributed to the supe- 

 rior part of the pharynx, corresponding to the 

 pharyngeal branch of Bock. 



The anterior superior nasal branches are 

 either one or two in number ; when but one, 

 it divides into branches corresponding to the 

 two ; it is so expressed in Arnold's fifth plate ; 

 one of the two divides into filaments, which 

 are distributed to the posterior ethmoidal cells, 

 to the posterior part of the superior turbinate 

 bone, arid to the superior meatus, to the mem- 

 brane of those parts. The second distributes 

 its filaments to the convex surface of the mid- 

 dle turbinate bone ; according to Cloquet they 

 in part perforate the bone, and thus gain its 

 concave surface : they all run between the 

 periosteum and the mucous membrane, and 

 are distributed finally to the latter. 



The branches connected with the septum are 

 two, a short and a long one ; they both pass 

 across the anterior wall of the sphenoidal 

 sinus from without inward, and thus reach 

 the posterior part of the septum nasi, become 

 attached to it, and changing their direction 

 descend forward along it, between the perios- 

 teum and mucous membrane. 



The short, lesser, branch is situate very near 

 to the posterior margin of the septum, to 

 which it is parallel in its course, and distri- 

 butes its filaments to the membrane of the 

 posterior part of it: one of them is repre- 

 sented by Arnold as constituting the phar 

 geal branch. 



The long branch descends to the superior 

 aperture of the anterior palatine canal, enters 

 the canal, and in it the nerves of the two sides 

 are united to a small ganglion denominated 

 the naso-palatine ; from it filaments descend 

 to the anterior part of the palate, in which 

 they are distributed and communicate with 

 filaments of the palatine nerves. Each nerve, 

 during its course along the septum, is situate 

 nearer to its position inferior than to its supe- 

 rior anterior margins : it is said not to give 

 any filaments during its descent, but this is 

 incorrect, as is well represented by Arnold ; 

 those, which it gives off, are distributed to the 

 membrane of the septum about its middle; 

 at times also it divides into two filaments, 

 which are afterwards reunited. Each nerve is 

 received inferiorly in a separate canal, which 

 inclining inward is soon united to the other 

 in the palatine, and in it the nerve or the 

 naso-palatine ganglion receives a filament of 

 communication from the anterior superior den- 

 tal branch of the second division of the fifth, 

 as described by Cloquet. 



This branch has been particularly described, 

 first by Scarpa,* and by him denominated 

 the naso-palutine ; it has been also described 

 by J. Hunter,t between whom and Scarpa 

 appears to lie the merit of having first ob- 

 served it ; it is also known as " the nerve of 

 the septum," but the latter appellation is ma- 

 nifestly incorrect ; nor is the former free from 

 objection, inasmuch as the same title has been 

 applied, and with reason, in the inferior Mam- 

 malia, to the original branch given off by the 

 second division of the fifth for the supply of 

 the nostril and palate, with which the spheno- 

 palatine ganglion is connected, and which in 

 man has received the name of spheno-palatine 

 branch. The branch of the ganglion in ques- 

 tion is called by some the nerve of Cotunnius, 

 but incorrectly ; having been first described by 

 Scarpa, it cannot with justice be attributed to 

 the former. 



The posterior branch of the ganglion is de- 

 scribed and represented by the majority of 

 authorities as arising single and in its course 

 dividing into two filaments; but Bock, J. F. 

 Meckel, and Hirzel state that the two fila- 

 ments at times are throughout distinct and 

 connected separately to the ganglion ; and 

 Arnold represents, in like manner, two fila- 

 ments arising from the ganglion, corresponding 

 to the two into which the single nerve divides. 

 The posterior branch arises from the back of 

 the ganglion, passes directly backward from it, 

 and is received immediately into the pterygoid 

 or Vidian canal, along with the corresponding 

 branch of the internal maxillary artery: it 

 is transmitted through the canal backward 

 and slightly outward, beneath the course of 

 the second division of the fifth itself, and 

 external to, or in many instances beneath the 

 sphenoidal sinus ; having traversed the canal, 



* Annotations Academics, in which is also con^ 

 tained a good representation of the nerve as a 

 single branch. 



* Animal (Economy. 



