Submandibular ganglion

Thesubmandibular ganglion(orsubmaxillary ganglionin older texts) is part of the humanautonomic nervous system.It is one of fourparasympathetic gangliaof the head and neck. (The others are theotic ganglion,pterygopalatine ganglion,andciliary ganglion).

Submandibular ganglion
Distribution of themaxillaryandmandibular nerves,and the submaxillary ganglion. (Submandibular ganglion visible at bottom left, but not labeled.)
Parasympathetic connections of the submaxillary and superior cervical ganglia. (Submaxillary ganglion labeled at center right.)
Details
Innervates	Submandibular gland,sublingual gland
Identifiers
Latin	ganglion submandibulare
TA98	A14.3.02.009
TA2	6667
FMA	6966
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy

Location and relations

The submandibular ganglion is small andfusiformin shape. It is situated above the deep portion of thesubmandibular gland,on thehyoglossus muscle,near the posterior border of themylohyoid muscle.

The ganglion 'hangs' by two nerve filaments from the lower border of thelingual nerve(itself a branch of themandibular nerve,CN V₃). 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 thechorda tympaninerve which runs in the sheath of the lingual nerve.

Fibers

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 theexternal carotid plexus,via thefacial nerveand its branches. These do not synapse in this ganglion.
• Preganglionicparasympathetic fibers from thesuperior salivatory nucleusof thePons,via thechorda tympaniandlingual nerve,which synapse at this ganglion.
• Postganglionicparasympathetic fibers to theoral mucosaand thesubmandibularandsublingualsalivary glands. They are secretomotor to these glands. Some of the postganglionic fibers reach the sublingual gland after they re-enter thelingual nerve.

Additional images

• 
  Mandibular division of trifacial nerve, seen from the middle line.
• 
  Diagram of efferent sympathetic nervous system.

External links

• Anatomy figure: 27:03-10at Human Anatomy Online, SUNY Downstate Medical Center
• cranialnervesat The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (V,VII)
• Autonomics of the Head and Neck – Page 9 of 14anatomy module atmed.umich.edu