Trigeminal Nerve in Spanish

What are the branches of the trigeminal nerve?

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the trigeminal nerves have three branches. The ophthalmic (upper) branch supplies sensation to most of the scalp, forehead, and front of the head. The maxillary (middle) branch supplies sensation to the cheek, upper jaw, top lip, teeth and gums, and side of the nose. The mandibular (lower) branch supplies nerves to the lower jaw, teeth and gums, and bottom lip.

What is trigeminal neuralgia?

NINDS describes trigeminal neuralgia (TN), also known as tic douloureux, as a type of chronic pain disorder that involves sudden attacks of severe facial pain, and says it affects the trigeminal nerve. MedlinePlus lists pressure on the trigeminal nerve from a swollen blood vessel or tumor and injury to the nerve among the possible causes, and adds that often no exact cause is found.

What it means

The trigeminal nerve is the main sensory nerve of the head and face and the motor nerve of the muscles used in chewing; the National Cancer Institute (NCI) dictionary also calls it the fifth cranial nerve. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) describes the trigeminal nerves as a pair of cranial nerves that connect the brain and brain stem to different parts of the face, with three branches that send and receive sensations from the upper, middle, and lower portions of the face. MedlinePlus says the nerve carries the sensations of touch and pain from the face, eyes, sinuses, and mouth to the brain. Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a nerve disorder that causes a stabbing or electric shock-like pain in parts of the face.

Spanish term: Nervio trigémino
Gender and article: masculine: el nervio trigémino
Pronunciation: NEHR-byoh tree-HEH-mee-noh

Other Spanish terms	Where it is used	Note
quinto par craneal	General	Other name given by the National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary at the end of its entry for nervio trigémino.

Nervio trigémino is the term in the National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary and in MedlinePlus en español. It is masculine, as in MedlinePlus en español's del nervio trigémino, and trigémino carries a written accent on the é. The NCI Spanish dictionary defines it as the main sensory nerve of the head and face (la cabeza y el rostro) and the motor nerve of the muscles used for chewing (masticar), and adds that it is also called quinto par craneal, where the English entry says fifth cranial nerve.

The condition named after the nerve is neuralgia del trigémino, abbreviated NT by MedlinePlus en español where the English page uses TN. Its list of alternative names includes tic doloroso and neuralgia trifacial. Words from the same article: dolor punzante (stabbing pain), la cara (the face), la mejilla (the cheek), senos paranasales (sinuses), cepillarse los dientes (brushing the teeth) and bloqueo del nervio trigémino (trigeminal nerve block).

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Patient	I get sudden pain on one side of my face, like an electric shock.	Me da un dolor repentino en un lado de la cara, como una descarga eléctrica.
Clinician	Where exactly is the pain: around the eye, in the cheek, or in the jaw?	¿Dónde exactamente tiene el dolor: alrededor del ojo, en la mejilla o en la mandíbula?
Patient	In my cheek and my upper teeth. It lasts a few seconds.	En la mejilla y en los dientes de arriba. Dura unos segundos.
Clinician	Does brushing your teeth, chewing, or touching your face trigger the pain?	¿Cepillarse los dientes, masticar o tocarse la cara le desencadena el dolor?
Patient	Yes, and even the wind on my face can trigger it.	Sí, y hasta el viento en la cara puede desencadenarlo.
Clinician	The trigeminal nerve carries the sensations of touch and pain from your face to your brain.	El nervio trigémino lleva las sensaciones de tacto y dolor desde la cara hasta el cerebro.
Clinician	I am going to order an MRI of your head to look for the cause.	Voy a pedirle una resonancia magnética de la cabeza para buscar la causa.
Patient	My dentist found nothing wrong with my teeth. Could it be the nerve?	Mi dentista no encontró ningún problema en los dientes. ¿Podría ser el nervio?

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Trigeminal Nerve
Spanish (Español)	Nervio trigémino
Chinese (中文)	三叉神經
Korean (한국어)	삼차신경
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Dây thần kinh sinh ba
Filipino (Tagalog)	Trigeminal nerve
Portuguese (Português)	Nervo trigêmeo
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	เส้นประสาทไตรเจมินัล
Japanese (日本語)	三叉神経

Where you'll see it

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Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: Brain and nerves

All terms in this area: Brain and nerves — Cerebro y nervios

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.