Superior salivary nucleus
|Brain: Superior salivary nucleus|
|Plan of the facial and intermediate nerves and their communication with other nerves. (Nucleus salivatorius visible at upper left.)|
|Latin||nucleus salivatorius superior|
|Gray's||subject #191 861|
Parasympathetic efferent fibers of the facial nerve (preganglionic fibers) arise according to some authors from the small cells of the facial nucleus, or according to others from a special nucleus of cells scattered in the reticular formation, dorso-medial to the facial nucleus. This is sometimes called the superior salivatory nucleus.
These preganglionic fibers are distributed partly via the chorda tympani and lingual nerves to the submandibular ganglion, thence by postganglionic (vasodilator) fibers to the submandibular gland and sublingual gland.
The term "lacrimal nucleus" is sometimes used to refer to a portion of the superior salivary nucleus.
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.