Submandibular ganglion

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Nerve: Submandibular ganglion
Distribution of the maxillary and mandibular nerves, and the submaxillary ganglion.
Sympathetic connections of the submaxillary and superior cervical ganglia.
Latin	ganglion submandibulare
Gray's	subject #200 898
Dorlands/Elsevier	g_02/12385004

The submandibular ganglion (or submaxillary ganglion in older texts) is part of the human autonomic nervous system. It is one of four parasympathetic ganglia of the head and neck. (The others are the otic ganglion, pterygopalatine ganglion, and ciliary ganglion). The submandibular ganglion is responsible for innervation of two salivary glands: the submandibular gland and sublingual gland. The ganglion 'hangs' by two nerve filaments from the lower border of the lingual nerve (itself a branch of the mandibular nerve, CN V₃).

The submandibular ganglion is small and fusiform in shape. It is situated above the deep portion of the submandibular gland, on the hyoglossus muscle, near the posterior border of the mylohyoid muscle. It is suspended from the lingual nerve by two filaments, one anterior and one posterior. Through the posterior of these it receives a branch from the chorda tympani nerve which runs in the sheath of the lingual nerve.

Like other parasympathetic ganglia of the head and neck, the submandibular ganglion is the site of synapse for parasympathetic fibers and carries other types of nerve fiber that do not synapse in the ganglion. In summary, the fibers carried in the ganglion are:

• Sympathetic fibers from the internal carotid plexus, via the facial artery and its branches. These do not synapse in this ganglion.
• Preganglionic parasympathetic fibers from the superior salivatory nucleus of the medulla oblongata, via the chorda tympani and lingual nerve, which synapse at the origin of:
• Postganglionic parasympathetic fibers to the oral mucosa and the submandibular and sublingual salivary glands.

[edit] Additional images

Diagram of efferent sympathetic nervous system.

[edit] External links

• SUNY Figs 27:03-10

Cranial nerves

I-IV: olfactory - optic - oculomotor - trochlear V: trigeminal: semilunar ganglion V1: ophthalmic: lacrimal - frontal (supratrochlear, supraorbital) - nasociliary (long root of ciliary, long ciliary, infratrochlear, ethmoidal) - ciliary ganglion - short ciliary V2: maxillary: middle meningeal - in the pterygopalatine fossa (zygomatic, zygomaticotemporal, zygomaticofacial, sphenopalatine, posterior superior alveolar) in the infraorbital canal (middle superior alveolar, anterior superior alveolar) on the face (inferior palpebral, external nasal, superior labial, infraorbital plexus) - pterygopalatine ganglion (deep petrosal, nerve of pterygoid canal) branches of distribution (palatine, nasopalatine, pharyngeal) V3: mandibular: nervus spinosus - internal pterygoid - anterior (masseteric, deep temporal, buccinator, external pterygoid) posterior (auriculotemporal, lingual, inferior alveolar, mylohyoid, mental) - otic ganglion - submandibular ganglion VI: abducent VII: facial: nervus intermedius - geniculate - inside facial canal (great 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 IX: glossopharyngeal: fasciculus solitarius - nucleus ambiguus - sympathetic efferent fibers - ganglia (superior, petrous) - tympanic X: vagus: ganglia (jugular, nodose) - Alderman's nerve - in the neck (pharyngeal branch, superior laryngeal, recurrent laryngeal) - in the thorax (pulmonary branches, esophageal plexus) - in the abdomen (gastric plexuses, celiac plexus, gastric plexus) XI: accessory XII: hypoglossal

v • d • e Autonomic nervous system

sympathetic nervous system: sympathetic trunks (white ramus communicans, gray ramus communicans) - collateral ganglia cavernous plexus - cervical ganglia: (superior, middle, inferior) - splanchnic nerves: (thoracic, lumbar, sacral) - ganglion impar internal carotid - cardiac celiac: celiac ganglia - aorticorenal - renal - spermatic/ovarian - superior mesenteric - aortic plexus - inferior mesenteric - hepatic - splenic - gastric - pancreatic - suprarenal hypogastric: superior hypogastric - inferior hypogastric - vesical - prostatic - uterovaginal parasympathetic nervous system: ciliary ganglion (short ciliary nerves) - pterygopalatine ganglion (nerve of pterygoid canal) - submandibular ganglion - otic ganglion - pelvic splanchnic