Chorda tympani

Last revised by Craig Hacking ◉ on 31 Jul 2024

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Hsu C, Hacking C, Campos A, et al. Chorda tympani. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 20 Mar 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-25947

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-25947

Permalink:

rID:

25947

Article created:

17 Nov 2013, Charlie Chia-Tsong Hsu

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Charlie Chia-Tsong Hsu had no recorded disclosures.

Last revised:

31 Jul 2024, Craig Hacking ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Craig Hacking had the following disclosures:

These were assessed during peer review and were determined to not be relevant to the changes that were made.

Revisions:

21 times, by 12 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Head & Neck, Central Nervous System

Sections:

Anatomy

Tags:

refs, cases

Synonyms:

The chorda tympani is a nerve that arises from the mastoid segment of the facial nerve, carrying afferent special sensation from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue via the lingual nerve, as well as efferent parasympathetic secretomotor innervation to the submandibular and sublingual glands.

After branching off from the facial nerve, the chorda tympani courses through the temporal bone before joining the lingual nerve ²:

branch from mastoid segment of facial nerve: the branching site can be variable from either the proximal, mid- or distal mastoid segment of facial nerve; occasionally the chorda tympani can even branch off from the facial nerve after exiting the stylomastoid foramen
posterior canaliculus: after originating, the chorda tympani courses superiorly back into the tympanic cavity to the level of the manubrium/neck of malleus. The distance of ascent is variable, depending on the initial branching pattern from the mastoid segment of facial nerve
tympanic segment is the segment of chorda tympani as it traverses the middle ear cavity between the malleus and incus in a posteroanterior direction; not visible with current imaging techniques
anterior canaliculus: at the anterior wall of the tympanic cavity, it enters petrotympanic fissure before finally exiting the temporal bone
the chorda tympani exits the petrotympanic fissure medial to to the temporomandibular joint, within the infratemporal fossa. It then travels inferiorly to join the lingual nerve approximately 2 cm below the skull base