chorda tympani nerve

anatomy

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June 24, 2026

Quick Summary

The chorda tympani nerve is a branch of the facial nerve (cranial nerve VII). This nerve plays a crucial role in transmitting taste sensations from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue to the brain. It also carries parasympathetic fibers that stimulate the submandibular and sublingual salivary glands, influencing salivation. The chorda tympani nerve travels through the middle ear cavity before joining the lingual nerve, a branch of the mandibular nerve. Damage to this nerve can result in a loss of taste sensation in the front of the tongue.12

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human nervous system
Facial nerve (CN VII or 7)
…ganglion by way of the chorda tympani nerve (another branch of the facial nerve, which joins the lingual branch of the mandibular nerve). Postganglionic fibers from the pterygopalatine ganglion innervate the nasal and palatine glands and the lacrimal gland, while those from the submandibular ganglion serve the submandibular and sublingual…
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…ganglion by way of the chorda tympani nerve (another branch of the facial nerve, which joins the lingual branch of the mandibular nerve). Postganglionic fibers from the pterygopalatine ganglion innervate the nasal and palatine glands and the lacrimal gland, while those from the submandibular ganglion serve the submandibular and sublingual…
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human ear
Nerves
…small but important branch, the chorda tympani nerve, emerges from the canal into the middle-ear cavity and runs forward along the inner surface of the pars tensa of the membrane, passing between the handle of the malleus and the long process of the incus. Since at this point it is…
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…small but important branch, the chorda tympani nerve, emerges from the canal into the middle-ear cavity and runs forward along the inner surface of the pars tensa of the membrane, passing between the handle of the malleus and the long process of the incus. Since at this point it is…
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human sensory reception
Nerve supply
…lingual nerve to form the chorda tympani, a slender nerve that traverses the eardrum on the way to the brainstem. When the chorda tympani at one ear is cut or damaged (by injury to the eardrum), taste buds begin to disappear and gustatory sensitivity is lost on the anterior two-thirds…
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…lingual nerve to form the chorda tympani, a slender nerve that traverses the eardrum on the way to the brainstem. When the chorda tympani at one ear is cut or damaged (by injury to the eardrum), taste buds begin to disappear and gustatory sensitivity is lost on the anterior two-thirds…
Read More