Nerve
Lingual nerve
General tongue sensation with accompanying facial-nerve fibers
High-yield
The lingual nerve's own sensory fibers belong to V3. The taste and preganglionic parasympathetic fibers traveling beside them came from chorda tympani, CN VII.
Overview
The lingual nerve brings general sensation from the anterior tongue and nearby oral mucosa into V3. Chorda tympani joins it in the infratemporal fossa, adding taste and parasympathetic fibers from CN VII. In the mouth floor, the nerve usually loops beneath the submandibular duct and comes to lie medial to it. Connections with the submandibular ganglion provide a route for glandular secretomotor fibers.
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Reference facts
- Origin
- Posterior division of mandibular V3; receives chorda tympani in the infratemporal fossa
- Course
- Descends medial to the mandibular ramus, passes near the third-molar region and enters the mouth floor. It usually crosses from lateral to inferior to medial around the submandibular duct
- Motor
- No intrinsic skeletal-muscle motor supply. Accompanies CN VII preganglionic fibers to the submandibular ganglion and carries some returning postganglionic glandular fibers
- Sensory
- General sensation from most of the anterior two-thirds of the tongue, floor of mouth and lingual mandibular gingiva. Chorda tympani adds taste; vallate papillae are principally supplied by CN IX
Clinical correlation
The nerve can lie close to the inner mandibular surface near the third molar. Injury there may cause altered general sensation and taste on the same side of the anterior tongue. The position varies, and the degree or persistence of sensory loss depends on the injury.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the lingual nerve arise?
Posterior division of mandibular V3; receives chorda tympani in the infratemporal fossa.
What muscles does the lingual nerve supply?
No intrinsic skeletal-muscle motor supply. Accompanies CN VII preganglionic fibers to the submandibular ganglion and carries some returning postganglionic glandular fibers.
What is the sensory distribution of the lingual nerve?
General sensation from most of the anterior two-thirds of the tongue, floor of mouth and lingual mandibular gingiva. Chorda tympani adds taste; vallate papillae are principally supplied by CN IX.
What is the course of the lingual nerve?
Descends medial to the mandibular ramus, passes near the third-molar region and enters the mouth floor. It usually crosses from lateral to inferior to medial around the submandibular duct.