Chorda tympani

The chorda tympani is a branch of the facial nerve that originates from the taste buds in the front of the tongue, runs through the middle ear, and carries taste messages to the brain.

It joins the facial nerve (cranial nerve VII) inside the facial canal, at the level where the facial nerve exits the skull via the stylomastoid foramen, but exits through the petrotympanic fissure and descends in the infratemporal fossa.

The chorda tympani is part of one of three cranial nerves that are involved in taste.

The taste system involves a complicated feedback loop, with each nerve acting to inhibit the signals of other nerves.