Greater petrosal nerve

The greater petrosal nerve ( " large petrous nerve" ) is a branch of the seventh cranial nerve (facial nerve ), or more precisely its Intermedius stake, which he leaves in the geniculate ganglion. It contains parasympathetic and sensory nerve fibers and is a communicating branch connected to the tympanic plexus.

The greater petrosal nerve passes through the front of the petrous pyramid in the middle cranial fossa, where it extends in a directory named after the nerve sulcus foramen lacerum by which he leaves the cranial cavity. On the outer base of the skull it combines with sympathetic fibers that come from the nerve plexus of the internal carotid artery and are referred to as deep petrosal nerve. The composite of the two nerve then runs through the pterygoid canal of the sphenoid bone, where it is referred to as the nerve of the pterygoid canal. This nerve is the afferent branch of the pterygopalatine ganglion.

In the pterygopalatine ganglion, the preganglionic parasympathetic fibers are switched to post-ganglionic fibers and get together with the sympathetic fibers mostly with the use of branches of the maxillary nerve to their target organs. These are the lacrimal glands, the glands of the nasal mucosa ( nasal glands ), the palate and the nasopharynx.

The sensory fibers reach the mucous membrane of the soft palate, where they innervate the taste buds sparsely occurring there.