The meningeal branch originates from the medial side of the mandibular nerve [V3] and ascends to leave the infratemporal fossa with the middle meningeal artery and reenter the cranial cavity through the foramen spinosum (Fig. 8.148). It is sensory for the dura mater, mainly of the middle cranial fossa, and also supplies the mastoid cells that communicate with the middle ear.
Nerve to medial pterygoid