The pain associated with trigeminal neuralgia, also called Tic douloureux (pain twitches), is associated with those areas of the body innervated by the fifth cranial nerve (V nerve), also called the trigeminal nerve. The trigeminal nerve supplies sensory innervation to an area from the forehead to, and including, the lower jaw. Areas involved include the eye, nose, sinuses and oral cavity. The nerve also supplies motor innervation to the muscles of mastication. The trigeminal nerve has three divisions, the ophthalmic, the maxillary, and the mandibular. These are also termed nerves V1, V2, and V3 respectively. While initially the pain of trigeminal neuralgia may be mild, it almost always progresses to a very severe pain.
