Parotid gland
Location
Covered in deep cervical fascia
Lies between mastoid, styloid, ramus of mandible
structures passing through parotid gland
- Nerves:
- Facial nerve (from stylomastoid foramen) - where it branches
- External carotid artery - where branches:
- posterior auricular artery, then
- maxillary and superficial temporal arteries (which gives off transverse facial artery)
- Retromandibular vein - formed of superficial temporal and maxillary veins
- parotid lymph nodes
course of parotid duct
- traverses lateral side of masseter
- pierces buccinator
- enters mouth near second upper molar
relations
what lies...
anterior
Masseter
Angle of mandible
posterior
SCM
mastoid process
superior
External acoustic meatus
TMJ
innervation
- sensory + secretomotor: auriculotemporal nerve (branch of CN V3)
- Preganglionic parasympathetic fibers to the otic ganglion come from the glossopharyngeal nerve CN 9
- stimulates saliva production
- fibres carried by auricotemporal nerve
- Sympathetic: superior cervical ganglion
- sheath: great auricular nerve