A 68-year-old woman is suffering from excruciating, sudden bouts of pain over the area of her midface. Laboratory studies indicate that she has tic douloureux (trigeminal neuralgia). Which ganglion is the location of the neural cell bodies of the nerve mediating the pain?

The semilunar ganglion, also known as the trigeminal or Gasserian ganglion, is the location of the sensory neuron cell bodies of the trigeminal nerve. Tic douloureux is a condition in which pain occurs over the area of distribution of trigeminal nerve branches. The geniculate ganglion is found on the facial nerve and receives sensory fibers for taste and transmits preganglionic parasympathetic fibers. Inferior glossopharyngeal ganglion is part of the glossopharyngeal nerve, not the trigeminal nerve, and is not the site of the cell bodies mediating the pain. The otic ganglion, located on the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve, contains postganglionic parasympathetic cell bodies for parotid secretion. The pterygopalatine ganglion, located in the pterygopalatine fossa, also contains postganglionic parasympathetic cell bodies for lacrimation and mucosal secretion.