Central distribution of afferent fibers in the intermediate nerve: a transganglionic HRP study in the cat.

Afferent fibers in the two components of the intermediate nerve of the cat, i.e. the chorda tympani (CTN) and greater petrosal (GPN) nerves, were traced into the lower brainstem transganglionically after applying horseradish peroxidase (HRP) to the central cut end of the CTN or GPN. CTN fibers ended in the trigeminal (principal sensory and spinal trigeminal nuclei) and solitary (medial, interstitial and dorsal solitary nuclei) nuclei, whereas GPN fibers ended only in the solitary nucleus.