Which nerve carries parasympathetic fibers to lacrimal gland?

• A. Lacrimal nerve
• B. Greater petrosal nerve (CN VII)
• C. Vidian nerve
• D. Deep petrosal nerve

Answer: (B)

Parasympathetic innervation to the lacrimal gland comes from the facial nerve as preganglionic fibers travel in the greater petrosal nerve. These fibers reach the pterygopalatine ganglion (via the nerve of the pterygoid canal, formed by the union of greater petrosal and deep petrosal), and then postganglionic fibers hitchhike with branches of V2 and finally V1—the lacrimal nerve—to reach the lacrimal gland. The greater petrosal nerve is the carrier of the parasympathetic preganglionic fibers; the lacrimal nerve itself carries the postganglionic fibers to the gland, having already received them from the pterygopalatine ganglion. Deep petrosal is the sympathetic component, not parasympathetic.