Greater petrosal nerve

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Nerve: Greater petrosal nerve
The course and connections of the facial nerve in the temporal bone.
Plan of the facial and intermediate nerves and their communication with other nerves.
Latin nervus petrosus major
Gray's subject #202 903
From facial nerve
To nerve of pterygoid canal
Dorlands/Elsevier n_05/12566464

The greater petrosal nerve is a nerve in the skull that branches from the facial nerve; it forms part of a chain of nerves that innervates the lacrimal gland. The fibres have synapses in the pterygopalatine ganglion.

Contents

The greater petrosal nerve is a branch of the facial nerve that arises from the geniculate ganglion, a part of the facial nerve inside the facial canal. It enters the middle cranial fossa through the hiatus for the greater petrosal nerve (on the anterior surface of the petrous temporal bone). It proceeds towards the foramen lacerum, where it joins the deep petrosal nerve (sympathetic) to form the nerve of the pterygoid canal. The nerve of the pterygoid canal passes through the pterygoid canal to reach the pterygopalatine ganglion.

The greater petrosal nerve carries gustatory (taste) and parasympathetic fibres. Postganglionic parasympathetic fibres from pterygopalatine ganglion supply lacrimal gland and the mucosal glands of the nose, palate, and pharynx. The gustatory fibres do not relay in the ganglion and are distributed to the palate.

Alveolar branches of superior maxillary nerve and sphenopalatine ganglion. (

Sympathetic connections of the sphenopalatine and superior cervical ganglia.

 This neuroscience article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
v • d • e
Nerves of head and neck: the cranial nerves
I-IV olfactory • optic • oculomotor (superior branch, inferior branch) • trochlear
V: trigeminal trigeminal ganglion • ophthalmic • maxillary • mandibular
VI: abducens no significant branches
VII: facial nervus intermedius • geniculate • inside facial canal (greater petrosal, nerve to the stapedius, chorda tympani) • at exit from stylomastoid foramen (posterior auricular, digastric • stylohyoid) • on face (temporal, zygomatic, buccal, mandibular, cervical)
VIII: vestibulocochlear cochlear (striae medullares, lateral lemniscus) • vestibular (Scarpa's ganglion)
IX: glossopharyngeal nucleus ambiguus • ganglia (superior, petrous) • tympanic (tympanic plexus, lesser petrosal) • carotid sinus • pharyngeal branches • pharyngeal plexus
X: vagus ganglia (jugular, nodose) • in the jugular fossa (meningeal branch, auricular branch) • in the neck (pharyngeal branch, superior laryngeal ext and int, recurrent laryngeal, superior cervical cardiac) • in the thorax (inferior cardiac, pulmonary branches, anterior vagal trunk, posterior vagal trunk) • in the abdomen (celiac branches - renal branches - hepatic branches of anterior vagal trunk - anterior gastric branches of anterior vagal trunk - posterior gastric branches of posterior vagal trunk)
XI-XII accessory • hypoglossal
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_petrosal_nerve"
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