Sensory root of trigeminal nerve

The fibers of the sensory root of the trigeminal nerve arise from the cells of the semilunar ganglion which lies in a cavity of the dura mater near the apex of the petrous part of the temporal bone. They pass backward below the superior petrosal sinus and tentorium cerebelli, and, entering the pons, divide into upper and lower roots. The upper root ends partly in a nucleus which is situated in the pons lateral to the lower motor nucleus, and partly in the locus cæruleus; the lower root descends through the pons and medulla oblongata, and ends in the upper part of the substantia gelatinosa of Rolando. This lower root is sometimes named the spinal root of the nerve. Medullation of the fibers of the sensory root begins about the fifth month of fetal life, but the whole of its fibers are not medullated until the third month after birth.