Although the symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia (TN) have been well described throughout the history of medicine, its etiology was initially not well understood by most surgeons. The standard procedure used to treat TN today, microvascular decompression (MVD), evolved due to the efforts of numerous neurosurgeons throughout the twentieth century. Walter Dandy was the first to utilize the cerebellar (suboccipital) approach to expose the trigeminal nerve for partial sectioning. He made unique observations about the compression of the trigeminal nerve by nearby structures, such as vasculature and tumors, in TN patients. In the 1920s, Dandy unintentionally performed the first MVD of the trigeminal nerve root. In the 1950s, Palle Taarnhøj treated a TN patient by performing the first intentional decompressive procedure on the trigeminal nerve root solely through the removal of a compressive tumor. By the 1960s, W. James Gardner was demonstrating that the removal of offending lesion(s) or decompression of nearby vasculature alleviated pressure on the trigeminal nerve and the pain associated with TN. By the 1990s, Peter Jannetta proved Dandy’s original hypothesis; he visualized the compression of the trigeminal nerve at the root entry zone in TN patients using an intraoperative microscope. In this paper, we recount the historical evolution of MVD for the treatment of TN.

尽管三叉神经痛（TN）的症状已在整个医学史上得到了很好的描述，但是其病因最初并未为大多数外科医生所了解。当今，用于治疗TN的标准程序是微血管减压（MVD），这是由于整个20世纪众多神经外科医师的努力而产生的。沃尔特·丹迪（Walter Dandy）是第一个利用小脑（枕下）方法暴露三叉神经进行局部切片的人。他对TN患者中附近结构（例如脉管系统和肿瘤）对三叉神经的压迫做出了独特的观察。在1920年代，丹迪无意间对三叉神经根进行了第一次MVD。在1950年代，PalleTaarnhøj仅通过去除压迫性肿瘤对三叉神经根进行了首次有意的减压手术，从而治疗了TN患者。到1960年代，W。James Gardner证明了病变的切除或附近脉管系统的减压可以减轻三叉神经的压力和与TN相关的疼痛。到1990年代，彼得·詹妮塔（Peter Jannetta）证明了丹迪的原始假设；他使用术中显微镜观察了TN患者根部入口区三叉神经的压迫情况。在本文中，我们叙述了MVD用于TN治疗的历史演变。詹姆士·加德纳（James Gardner）表示，除去有害病变或附近脉管系统减压可减轻三叉神经的压力和与TN相关的疼痛。到1990年代，彼得·詹妮塔（Peter Jannetta）证明了丹迪的原始假设。他使用术中显微镜观察了TN患者根部入口区三叉神经的压迫情况。在本文中，我们叙述了MVD用于TN治疗的历史演变。詹姆士·加德纳（James Gardner）表示，除去有害病变或附近脉管系统减压可减轻三叉神经的压力和与TN相关的疼痛。到1990年代，彼得·詹妮塔（Peter Jannetta）证明了丹迪的原始假设。他使用术中显微镜观察了TN患者根部入口区三叉神经的压迫情况。在本文中，我们叙述了MVD用于TN治疗的历史演变。