Path
Exits the skull through the internal acoustic meatus as part of the facial nerve, then it travels through the middle ear, where it runs from posterior to anterior across the tympanic membrane. It passes between the malleus and the incus, on the medial surface of the neck of the malleus.
The nerve continues through the petrotympanic fissure, after which it emerges from the skull into the infratemporal fossa. It soon combines with the larger lingual nerve, a branch of the mandibular nerve
The fibers of the chorda tympani travel with the lingual nerve to the submandibular ganglion.
Here, the preganglionic fibers of the chorda tympani synapse with postganglionic fibers which go on to innervate the submandibular and sublingual salivary glands.
Special sensory (taste) fibers also extend from the chorda tympani to the anterior 2/3 of the tongue via the lingual nerve.
Read more about this topic: Chorda Tympani
Famous quotes containing the word path:
“So long as you are praised think only that you are not yet on your own path but on that of another.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Childhood is an adventure both for children and for their parents. There should be freedom to explore and joy in discovery. The important discoveries for both parents and children seldom come at the points where the path is smooth and straight. It is the curves in that path to adventure that make the trip interesting and worthwhile.”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)
“Ai! ai! we do worse! We are in a fix! And you’re out, Death let
you out, Death had the Mercy, you’re done with your century, done with God, done with the path thru it—”
—Allen Ginsberg (b. 1926)