Of the Tongue crossword answer

Of the tongue crossword clue. Daily mail UK crossword on 12 May 2017, 7 letters.

The answer is LINGUAL

The lingual nerve is a branch of the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve (CN V3), which supplies sensory innervation to the tongue. It also carries fibers from the facial nerve, which return taste information from the anterior two thirds of the tongue, via the chorda tympani.

The lingual nerve lies at first beneath the lateral pterygoid muscle, medial to and in front of the inferior alveolar nerve, and is occasionally joined to this nerve by a branch which may cross the internal maxillary artery.

The chorda tympani (a branch of the facial nerve, CN VII) joins it at an acute angle here, carrying taste fibers from the anterior two thirds of the tongue and parasympathetic fibers to the submandibular ganglion.