Distribution of otic postganglionic and recurrent mandibular nerve fibres to the cavernous sinus plexus in monkeys.

The distribution of dorsal rami of the otic ganglion was traced on one or both sides of 1 rhesus and 15 cynomolgus monkeys using interrupted serial sections. From 15 to 24 fine rami containing unmyelinated and small myelinated nerve fibres entered the cranial cavity with the mandibular nerve through the foramen ovale. Most rami contributed to a plexus positioned in the crotch of the mandibular and maxillary nerves adjacent to the trigeminal ganglion. The plexus was augmented by an accessory otic ganglion. Rami then continued dorsally on each side of or through the maxillary nerve and joined the cavernous sinus plexus. The pathway described probably gives otic parasympathetic fibres access to the cerebral arteries and may share a wider distribution in common with other nerves contributing to the cavernous sinus plexus.