inferior salivary nucleus

A group of preganglionic parasympathetic motor neurons in the reticular formation of the medulla oblongata, dorsal to the nucleus ambiguous & caudal to the superior salivary nucleus. Efferents: - its axons leave the brainstem with the glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX) - fibers originating in the inferior salivary nucleus innervate the parotid gland via the otic ganglion - cell bodies of the inferior salivary nucleus & superior salivary nucleus are scattered & overlapping in regions of the lateral reticular formation.

References

Stedman's Medical Dictionary 27th ed, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, 1999