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Cranial Nerve 9 - Glossopharyngeal (IX)
The sensory component of the glossopharyngeal nerve conveys information about taste and other sensations from the throat and the posterior third of the tongue. The motor component of this nerve controls the acts of swallowing and salivation, and the dilation of blood vessels.
| Advanced |
The motor portion of the mixed glossopharyngeal nerve originates in the medulla and passes through the jugular foramen to innervate the stylopharyngeus muscle that is involved in the act of swallowing (Parent, 1996). Parasympathetic fibers stimulate the secretion of saliva from the parotid gland. The sensory portion of this nerve arises from the taste buds on the posterior third of the tongue and via the carotid sinus passes through the jugular foramen ending in the medulla. Proprioceptive receptors from the stylopharyngeus muscle are also conveyed by this cranial nerve.
| Reference |
Parent, A. (1996). Carpenter's human neuroanatomy (9th ed.). London: Williams & Wilkins.