- Branch off the Trigeminal nerve
- Exits via the foramen ovale entering the infra-temporal fossa
- Mandibular nerve gives rise to four terminal branches in the infra-temporal fossa
- Sensory supply:
- Mucous membranes and floor of the oral cavity
- External ear
- Lower lip
- Chin
- Anterior 2/3 of the tongue (only general sensation; special taste sensation supplied by the chorda tympani, a branch of the facial nerve)
- Lower molar, incisor and canine teeth and the associated gingiva
- Motor Supply
- Muscles of mastication; medial pterygoid, lateral pterygoid, masseter, temporalis
- Anterior belly of the digastric muscle and the mylohyoid muscle (these are suprahyoid muscles)
- Tensor veli palatini
- Tensor tympani
- Parasympathetic Supply
- Submandibular gland anatomy and Sublingual Gland
- Post-ganglionic fibres from the submandibular ganglion (derived from the facial nerve), travel with the lingual nerve to innervate these glands.
- Parotid Gland
- Post-ganglionic fibres from the otic ganglion (derived from the glossopharyngeal nerve, CN IX), travel with the auriculotemporal branch of the V3 to innervate the parotid gland.
