Nerve
Submandibular ganglion
The facial-nerve relay for two major salivary glands
High-yield
The lingual nerve carries a VII secretomotor pathway to this ganglion. It does not convert that pathway into trigeminal motor output: the relay supplies parasympathetic drive to submandibular and sublingual glands.
Overview
This parasympathetic ganglion lies beside hyoglossus, below the lingual nerve and above the deep submandibular gland. Preganglionic fibers arrive from VII through chorda tympani and then travel with the lingual nerve. After the relay, axons reach the submandibular gland directly or return to lingual branches toward the sublingual region.
Reference facts
- Origin
- Superior salivatory neurons send preganglionic fibers through VII, chorda tympani and the lingual nerve.
- Course
- Attached to the lingual nerve by small branches in the mouth floor, lateral to hyoglossus and superior to the deep submandibular gland.
- Motor
- Postganglionic parasympathetic supply to submandibular and sublingual glands and nearby small glands.
- Sensory
- Sensory and sympathetic fibers use associated connections without a parasympathetic relay. Sympathetic input reaches the region along external-carotid branches, including the facial arterial plexus.
Clinical correlation
Lingual-nerve injury can reduce salivary parasympathetic input as well as disturb tongue sensation or taste. The combination depends on the injury's position relative to chorda tympani and the ganglionic branches; complete gland shutdown is not an inevitable result.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the submandibular ganglion arise?
Superior salivatory neurons send preganglionic fibers through VII, chorda tympani and the lingual nerve.
What muscles does the submandibular ganglion supply?
The submandibular ganglion supplies the postganglionic parasympathetic supply to submandibular and sublingual glands and nearby small glands.
What is the sensory distribution of the submandibular ganglion?
Sensory and sympathetic fibers use associated connections without a parasympathetic relay. Sympathetic input reaches the region along external-carotid branches, including the facial arterial plexus.
What is the course of the submandibular ganglion?
Attached to the lingual nerve by small branches in the mouth floor, lateral to hyoglossus and superior to the deep submandibular gland.