Which ganglion houses the cell bodies for taste fibers traveling with the chorda tympani?

• A. Geniculate ganglion
• B. Trigeminal ganglion
• C. Inferior glossopharyngeal ganglion
• D. Otic ganglion

Answer: (A)

Taste fibers that travel with the chorda tympani are special visceral afferent fibers of the facial nerve carrying taste from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue. Their cell bodies sit in the geniculate ganglion, the sensory ganglion of CN VII. From there, the central processes go to the solitary nucleus, while the peripheral part reaches the tongue via the chorda tympani hitching to the lingual nerve. The trigeminal ganglion houses general sensory neurons for CN V and does not carry taste; the inferior glossopharyngeal ganglion contains taste from the posterior one-third of the tongue; the otic ganglion is a parasympathetic ganglion, not a sensory taste ganglion.