Review Question - QID 109252

A 45-year-old woman comes to the physician’s office with complaints of jaw pain. When she eats, yawns, or rubs her jaw, she gets intense, shooting pains down the left side of her jaw, including her lower lip and chin. These episodes last about 30 seconds and have recurred about 10 times per day for the last month. She finds these episodes extremely distressing and comes to the physician’s office in hope of finding a treatment. The patient denies any locking of her jaw. Physical exam is not notable for any tenderness to palpation over the jaw. She has no crepitus in her temporomandibular joint. The patient is able to open and close her jaw without pain. The nerve involved in this patient’s clinical presentation exits the skull through which of the following brain structures?