Clinical Significance
This nerve as it courses posteriorly to the condylar head, is frequently injured in temporomandibular joint (TMJ) surgery, causing an ipsilateral parasthesia of the auricle and skin surrounding the ear. Actually, it is the main nerve that supplies the TMJ, along with branches of the masseteric nerve and the deep temporal.
- After a parotidectomy, the nerves from the Auriculotemporal Nerve that previously innervated the parotid gland can reattach to the sweat glands in the same region. The result is sweating along the cheek with the consumption of foods (Frey's syndrome). Treatment involves the application of an antiperspirant or glycopyrrolate to the cheek, Jacobsen's neurectomy along the middle ear promontory, and lifting of the skin flap with the placement of a tissue barrier (harvested or cadaveric) to interrupt the misguided innervation of the sweat glands.
- Pain related to a condition called parotitis, a cause of which is "mumps", will be carried by the auriculotemporal nerve.
Read more about this topic: Auriculotemporal Nerve
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