Answer to Rodin’s Thinker had Deep Thoughts

Correct answer is C. The nerve that provides somatic sensory to the chin is the mental nerve, the termination of the inferior alveolar nerve once the latter exits the mental foramen. The inferior alveolar nerve is a branch of the mandibular division of the the trigeminal nerve. This division is also responsible for innervating the muscles of mastication, which were likely also inactive in the model, and perhaps the reason for his frail appearance. As to what could have caused the lesion, the model could have had a stroke, trauma or a tumor affecting this division of the trigeminal nerve.

Answer to this question is based on material presented in lectures 2 and 8 of the Head and Neck Lecture Series.

1 = Oculomotor n.

2 = Abducens n.

3 = Mandibular division (V3)

4 = Lingual n.

5 = Chorda tympani