Abstract
The purpose of this work is to expose the topographo-anatomical and functional aspects of trigeminal nerve (TN) on the view of somatotopic representation of acupuncture microsystems.
In the methodology is described that TN with its fibers receive somatic sensory afferent informations from the major part of the head’s skin,oral and nasal mucosa and dura mater,has the most extensive innervating zone of all the peripheral nerves and has the largest ganglion.In the periphery,autonomic fibers often join branches of the TN before they reach their final targets (nasociliary nerve,carotid plexus). Primary sensory fibers from other cranial nerves /VII,IX and X/ also enter the descending tract of TN. These fibers carry input from the concha of the auricul, the larynx and the pharynx. Primary trigeminal fibers, descending in the spinal tract of TN, are arranged in somatotopic order. The caudal part of the descending nucleus is called caudal nucleus, and present a good site to study the prope rties of specific nociceptors. The fibers of the medial parts of the face terminate at the highest, and those from the periphery at the lowest level of the spinal trigeminal nucleus.
The caudal nucleus of TN, is concerned with pain and temperature in the head, and has a continuous map of the facial skin, oral mucosa, skin in the conch of the ear, and dura mater.
In order to establish the topographo-anatomical and functional relationship between TN, acupuncture points /AP/ and zones in the region of it ’s area, the following has been done: Identification of number of acupuncture points and zones, comparing with other localization. The analysis of volume of diagnostic and therapeutic indications of 15.684 patients treating by acupuncture. The analysis of sensory somatotopic cortical representation of TN.
In conclusion it is emphasized that pain and other conditions in head and neck region are often an indication in acupuncture. The choice of AP of head very often depends on the pathological conditions in other parts of the body and viceversa. This interconections is the consequence of topographo-anatomical structure and physiology of the nervous system.
Somatotopic representation and organization of TN on all levels of the CNS, particularly in subnucleus caudalis of spinal trigeminal tract and reticular formation, determines that nociceptiv impulses from head and from other somatosensorial parts are mixed in medial reticular formation by which the maj or part of nerves is actived. This leads to neuro-immuno-humoral effects. The knowledge of trigeminal system is the basis for application of acupuncture in microsystems /scalp, auricle etc/ in stomatology, ENT, ophtalmology, neurology, maxillo-facial, head and neck surgery and so on.
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