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| Brain: Inferior salivatory nucleus | ||
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| The inferior salivatory nucleus is one of the components of the glossopharyngeal nerve, which stimulates secretion from the parotid gland. | ||
| Latin | nucleus salivatorius inferior | |
| NeuroNames | hier-761 | |
In the brain, the inferior salivatory nucleus is a cluster of neurons controlling the parasympathetic input to the parotid gland. It is one of the components of the glossopharyngeal nerve (cranial nerve IX).
Contents |
Location
Its precise location in humans has not yet been identified, but in other mammals it is located in the medulla within the general visceral efferent cell column, superior to the nucleus ambiguus and inferior to the superior salivatory nucleus.
Pathway
While still in the medulla, fibers of the inferior salivatory nucleus join with fibers of the gustatory nucleus, nucleus ambiguus, and spinal nucleus of the trigeminal nerve, and exit the medulla as the mixed glossopharyngeal nerve (cranial nerve IX). It sends fibers through the glossopharyngeal nerve's tympanic nerve and into the tympanic plexus. Exiting the plexus within the lesser petrosal nerve, these preganglionic fibers synapse with cells in the otic ganglion, which send postganglionic fibers into the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve, then into the auriculotemporal nerve, finally reaching their target, the parotid gland.
Function
Parasympathetic input from fibers of the inferior salivatory nucleus stimulates the parotid gland to vasodilate and secrete saliva.
See also
Additional images
 The cranial nerve nuclei schematically represented; dorsal view. Motor nuclei in red; sensory in blue. |
 Nuclei of origin of cranial motor nerves schematically represented; lateral view. |
References
- Kiernan, John A. (2005). Barr's The Human Nervous System: An Anatomical Viewpoint. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 150. ISBN 0-7817-5154-3.
External links
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Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 22 April 2008, at 17:15.
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