Table 1.

Causes of trigeminal neuralgia by location. The list is not exhaustive and highlights the major considerations encountered in clinical practice.

Brainstem	Multiple sclerosis
	Mass lesion: tumor, cavernous malformation
	Infection including herpes
	Infarct
	Syringobulbia
Cisternal space and Meckel's cave	Neurovascular conflict (the most common cause of trigeminal neuralgia)
	Mass in the cisterns: schwannoma, meningioma, epidermoid
	Leptomeningeal process: carcinomatosis, lymphoma, leukemia, sarcoidosis, meningitis
	Skull base mass: chordoma, chondrosarcoma, multiple myeloma, osseous metastasis
	Gradenigo syndrome
Cavernous sinus	Neoplasms: schwannoma, meningioma, pituitary macroadenoma, lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, metastatic disease
	Tolosa-Hunt syndrome
	Infection
	Carotid-cavernous aneurysm/fistula
Extracranial space	Perineural spread of head and neck neoplasm
	Peripheral nerve sheath tumor