INFERIOR SALIVARY NUCLEUS

A group of preganglionic parasympathetic engine neurons situated in the reticular formation of the medulla oblongata dorsal to the nucleus ambiguus; its axons leave the brain with the glossopharyngeal nerve and govern secretion from the parotid gland by the intermediary of the ganglion oticum; cells of the inferior and superior nucleus are scattered and overlapping in lateral regions of the reticular formation. Synonym: nucleus salivatorius inferior, inferior salivary nucleus.