Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Anatomy, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Neurosurgery, Tulane Center for Clinical Neurosciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
Clin Anat. 2023 Sep;36(6):900-904. doi: 10.1002/ca.24030. Epub 2023 Mar 2.
The lingual nerve carries somatosensory fibers from the anterior two-thirds of tongue. The parasympathetic preganglionic fibers arising from the chorda tympani also travel with the lingual nerve in the infratemporal fossa to synapse in the submandibular ganglion to innervate the sublingual gland. However, only a few studies have investigated the specific nerve that innervates the sublingual gland and surrounding tissue i.e., the so-called sublingual nerve. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify the anatomy and definition of the sublingual nerves. Thirty sides from formalin fixed cadaveric hemiheads underwent microsurgical dissection of the sublingual nerves. The sublingual nerves were found on all sides and categorized into three branches, i.e., branches to the sublingual gland, branches to the mucosa of the floor of the mouth, and gingival branches. Additionally, branches to the sublingual gland were subcategorized into types I and II based on the origin of the sublingual nerve. We suggest that the lingual nerve branches should be categorized into five branches, i.e., branches to the isthmus of the fauces, sublingual nerves, lingual branches, posterior branch to the submandibular ganglion, and branches to the sublingual ganglion.
舌神经携带来自舌前 2/3 的躯体感觉纤维。来自鼓索的副交感节前纤维也与舌神经一起在颞下窝中行进，在颌下神经节中突触，以支配舌下腺。然而，只有少数研究调查了支配舌下腺和周围组织的特定神经，即所谓的舌下神经。因此，本研究旨在阐明舌下神经的解剖和定义。30 侧来自福尔马林固定的头半部分进行了舌下神经的显微解剖。在所有侧都发现了舌下神经，并分为三个分支，即舌下腺分支、口底黏膜分支和牙龈分支。此外，根据舌下神经的起源，将舌下腺分支分为 I 型和 II 型。我们建议将舌神经分支分为五个分支，即咽峡分支、舌下神经分支、舌分支、下颌下神经节后支和舌下神经节分支。
