Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of the Distribution of Neurons Contributing to Ophthalmic, Maxillary, and Mandibular Nerves in the Trigeminal Ganglion of Experimental Model

The authors introduce a new method to build a three-dimensional (3D) model of the 3 branches of the trigeminal nerve in the trigeminal ganglion of rabbit with 3 different kinds of fluorescence. Ten adult New Zealand rabbits of both sexes weighing between 2.0 and 3.0 kg were used in the experiment. Then through an operation under general anesthesia, the maxillary and mandibular nerves were exposed, and red and gold fluorescence were applied to investigate the neurons of the maxillary and mandibular nerves. Subsequently, DiI was used as a marker for the ophthalmic neuron for the other side of the same rabbit. After receiving images of the 3 branches under a fluorescence microscope, a 3D model of the 3 branches of the trigeminal nerve could be built. The authors obtained an image of the 3 branches of neurons in the trigeminal ganglion, and a 3D model of the 3 branches of the trigeminal nerve in the trigeminal ganglion was reconstructed. In the trigeminal ganglion, ophthalmic neurons were concentrated in the anteromedial section, the maxillary division in the middle, and the mandibular division posterolaterally. Overlap was observed between the ophthalmic and maxillary neurons, and also for the maxillary and mandible neurons.