THE COURSE of the sympathetic fibers arising from the superior cervical ganglion and supplying the sweat glands of the face has not been definitely established. However, much evidence has accumulated to suggest that the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal nerve receives fibers within the cranium from the sympathetic plexus of the internal carotid artery, and that the maxillary and mandibular divisions receive fibers outside the cranium from the sympathetic plexus of the external carotid artery. List and Peet1 in an excellent paper on this subject summarized all the available anatomic information in a diagram (fig. 1).
It is known that the cutaneous distribution of the sympathetic fibers supplying the face corresponds closely to the cutaneous distribution of fibers conducting pain and temperature sensations. This relationship in respect to the ophthalmic division has been well illustrated in a recent report by Tarlov and Herz.2 They described a patient with