{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.chorda-tympani","code":"thing-q1076379","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q1076379/","name":"chorda tympani","alternateNames":["right chorda tympani","left chorda tympani"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.LIV"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"The chorda tympani is a branch of the facial nerve that traverses the middle ear and joins the lingual nerve, carrying taste afferents from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue and preganglionic parasympathetic fibres to the submandibular ganglion for secretion by the submandibular and sublingual salivary glands.","purpose":"Enable an agent to recognise the chorda tympani, record its anatomical continuity and functional evidence, and identify when assessment or procedural protection requires specialist judgment.","scope":{"in":["Laterality, organism and anatomical-instance identity","Course from the facial nerve through the middle ear to the lingual nerve","Taste-afferent and preganglionic parasympathetic components","Relationships to the tongue and submandibular ganglion","Observed integrity, functional assessment and procedural exposure"],"out":["The complete facial nerve and its other branches","The lingual nerve's general somatic sensory component","Whole-tongue anatomy and the complete central taste pathway","Salivary gland structure and independent gland disease","Whole-organism taxonomy, habitat and conservation status","Diagnosis and treatment protocols for ear disease or taste disorders"],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Identify a branch of the facial nerve carrying taste and parasympathetic fibers, rather than identifying it as an organism or a facial-expression motor branch. [NCBI MeSH](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Cmd=DetailsSearch&Db=mesh&Term=%22Chorda+Tympani+Nerve%22%5BMeSH+Terms%5D)","Trace the characteristic middle-ear course and exit toward the lingual nerve; proximity to the tympanic membrane alone is insufficient identification. [Anatomy of the chorda tympani](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546586/?report=printable)","Distinguish taste from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue from general sensation carried by the lingual nerve. [Anatomy of the lingual nerve](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546652/?report=reader)","Identify the parasympathetic connection through the submandibular ganglion toward the submandibular and sublingual glands. [Anatomy of the lingual nerve](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546652/?report=reader)"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"identity-and-branch-boundaries","name":"Identity and branch boundaries","description":"Establish which chorda tympani instance is represented and where its anatomical ownership ends.","layers":[{"id":"instance-identification","name":"Instance identification","description":"Anchor the branch to an organism and side.","findings":[{"id":"side-specific-nerve-instance","name":"Side-specific nerve instance","description":"Require an explicit distinction between the anatomical concept and an observed left or right branch.","questions":[{"text":"Does this record describe the anatomical concept or a particular nerve in an organism or specimen?","id":"side-specific-nerve-instance-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which species, specimen and side does the observation concern?","id":"side-specific-nerve-instance-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"branch-and-fiber-ownership","name":"Branch and fiber ownership","description":"Separate the discrete branch from connected nerves and continuing fiber populations.","findings":[{"id":"lingual-junction-boundary","name":"Lingual junction boundary","description":"Represent the lingual-nerve junction as a connection, with continuing chorda-derived fibers distinguished from the whole lingual nerve.","questions":[{"text":"Does the observation concern the separate chorda tympani or its fibers after joining the lingual nerve?","id":"lingual-junction-boundary-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"What anatomical evidence supports assigning this structure or fiber population to the chorda tympani?","id":"lingual-junction-boundary-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"course-and-middle-ear-relations","name":"Course and middle-ear relations","description":"Record the branch's route and its locally observed anatomical relationships.","layers":[{"id":"route-continuity","name":"Route continuity","description":"Trace the route using named connections and landmarks.","findings":[{"id":"facial-to-lingual-route","name":"Facial-to-lingual route","description":"Record evidence for the facial-nerve origin, tympanic course, petrotympanic exit and lingual-nerve junction.","questions":[{"text":"Which portions of the route have actually been visualised or otherwise demonstrated?","id":"facial-to-lingual-route-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Where are the origin, exit and junction located in this instance?","id":"facial-to-lingual-route-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"local-landmarks-and-variation","name":"Local landmarks and variation","description":"Capture relationships needed to interpret a specific anatomical field.","findings":[{"id":"tympanic-landmark-relations","name":"Tympanic landmark relations","description":"Record relationships to the tympanic membrane, malleus and incus without assuming identical geometry across individuals.","questions":[{"text":"How does the observed nerve relate to the tympanic membrane and adjacent ossicles?","id":"tympanic-landmark-relations-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Does an unusual course reflect a documented variant, displacement, or uncertain identification?","id":"tympanic-landmark-relations-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"taste-and-secretomotor-connections","name":"Taste and secretomotor connections","description":"Represent the two principal functional components separately.","layers":[{"id":"gustatory-component","name":"Gustatory component","description":"Associate taste observations with a precisely identified tongue region.","findings":[{"id":"regional-taste-territory","name":"Regional taste territory","description":"Record the sampled side and tongue region rather than treating every taste complaint as evidence about this branch.","questions":[{"text":"Which tongue region and side are represented by the taste observation?","id":"regional-taste-territory-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Was taste assessed separately from touch, pain and temperature sensation?","id":"regional-taste-territory-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"parasympathetic-component","name":"Parasympathetic component","description":"Link the branch to the ganglionic relay and gland targets.","findings":[{"id":"ganglion-and-gland-boundary","name":"Ganglion and gland boundary","description":"Keep the preganglionic chorda component distinct from the ganglion, postganglionic pathways and gland tissue.","questions":[{"text":"Does the record concern the chorda component, the submandibular ganglion, or a downstream gland pathway?","id":"ganglion-and-gland-boundary-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"What evidence connects the observed secretory change specifically to this pathway?","id":"ganglion-and-gland-boundary-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"integrity-and-functional-evidence","name":"Integrity and functional evidence","description":"Describe structural condition and functional observations with their limits.","layers":[{"id":"structural-condition","name":"Structural condition","description":"Record the location and evidential basis of suspected or observed disruption.","findings":[{"id":"segment-specific-integrity","name":"Segment-specific integrity","description":"Attach continuity or injury assessments to an identified segment, method and date.","questions":[{"text":"Which segment is intact, disrupted or indeterminate, and how was that assessed?","id":"segment-specific-integrity-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Is injury directly documented or inferred from symptoms and procedural history?","id":"segment-specific-integrity-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"functional-observations","name":"Functional observations","description":"Keep regional taste tests, salivary measurements and subjective reports distinguishable.","findings":[{"id":"test-context-and-attribution","name":"Test context and attribution","description":"Record methods and competing explanations before attributing a deficit to this branch.","questions":[{"text":"What protocol, stimulus, collection site and timing produced the functional result?","id":"test-context-and-attribution-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which alternative explanations or unassessed pathways limit attribution to the chorda tympani?","id":"test-context-and-attribution-q02","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Are baseline or contralateral observations available under comparable conditions?","id":"test-context-and-attribution-q03","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"procedural-exposure-and-follow-up","name":"Procedural exposure and follow-up","description":"Connect documented handling of the branch to subsequent observations.","layers":[{"id":"operative-relationship","name":"Operative relationship","description":"Record identification and handling within the actual operative field.","findings":[{"id":"documented-nerve-handling","name":"Documented nerve handling","description":"Distinguish confirmed identification, recorded manipulation and observed injury from missing documentation.","questions":[{"text":"Was the chorda tympani identified, and what handling or injury was recorded?","id":"documented-nerve-handling-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Does unresolved anatomy or documented exposure require review by the responsible specialist?","id":"documented-nerve-handling-q02","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"post-exposure-course","name":"Post-exposure course","description":"Track observations over time without assuming a universal recovery trajectory.","findings":[{"id":"serial-taste-and-secretion-record","name":"Serial taste and secretion record","description":"Compare dated symptoms and measurements with baseline while preserving uncertainty about causation and recovery.","questions":[{"text":"How have regional taste findings, salivary observations and reported symptoms changed since exposure?","id":"serial-taste-and-secretion-record-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"What further assessment has the responsible clinician specified for unresolved findings?","id":"serial-taste-and-secretion-record-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-confidence-notes","name":"Check these first","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these check these first hold for the sense of chorda tympani this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-confidence-notes-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-identifiers","name":"Identifiers and schemes","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of chorda tympani this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-identifiers-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation","name":"Standards and regulation","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of chorda tympani this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of chorda tympani this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards","name":"Failure modes and hazards","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of chorda tympani this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of chorda tympani this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain the course and functions of the chorda tympani in general terms.","Suggest that a person with a new loss of taste or facial weakness see a doctor."],"mustNot":["Diagnose nerve damage from reported changes in taste.","Tell a patient whether their nerve was injured during ear surgery.","Disclose a person's medical records without consent.","Promote unproven remedies for taste loss."],"requiresHuman":["Surgical decisions on the middle ear that risk the nerve."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Taste loss lowers quality of life and appetite, especially in older people.","Patients deserve honest information about surgical risks to the nerve."],"affectedParties":["Patients undergoing ear surgery","People with facial nerve palsy","Older people with poor appetite"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns it; it is part of each person's body.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q66543496","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q9620","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.chorda-tympani","Wikidata: Q1076379 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1076379)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Anatomical instance: Organism or specimen identifier, species, and left or right side","Observed course: Mapped segments and landmarks, each marked observed, inferred or unassessed","Fiber component: Taste afferent; preganglionic parasympathetic; unresolved","Structural continuity: Apparently continuous; partially disrupted; transected; indeterminate; unassessed","Regional taste assessment: Protocol-specific score or threshold, with stimulus, units, tongue site, side and date","Salivary assessment: Flow in mL/min where measured, with collection source and stimulation conditions","Procedural exposure: Unassessed; identified without documented manipulation; manipulated; documented injury"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["A thin nerve crossing the middle ear just behind the eardrum, visible to surgeons during ear operations."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Identify and annotate a side-specific chorda tympani in anatomical or operative records.","Trace connections while preserving the distinction between the named branch and its fibers traveling with the lingual nerve.","Compare regional taste observations across sides and dates under a recorded protocol.","Flag documented proximity or exposure during middle-ear procedures for specialist review.","Link structural observations, symptoms and functional measurements without asserting an unsupported causal diagnosis."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Can be stretched or cut during middle ear surgery, altering taste.","Damage can cause a metallic taste or dry mouth on one side."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Terminologia Anatomica, issued by the Federative International Programme for Anatomical Terminology under the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists, provides standardized anatomical nomenclature for the chorda tympani."]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["The chorda tympani is encountered in anatomical study of the facial nerve, middle ear and oral sensory pathways.","Its course is relevant to specialist assessment of taste disturbances and to planning procedures involving nearby ear structures.","Its parasympathetic connections are considered when studying secretion by the submandibular and sublingual salivary glands."]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q1076379: chorda tympani","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1076379","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Chorda tympani","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorda_tympani","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should the registry concept support nonhuman species directly, and which species-specific anatomical differences require separate profiles?","Which course variants and landmark measurements have sufficiently strong evidence to support recognition in different operative settings?","Which regional taste protocols and reference values support reliable side-specific assessment across ages and testing conditions?","How specifically can available salivary measurements distinguish chorda tympani dysfunction from gland disease or other influences?","What evidence supports prognosis after different documented injuries, and how should symptomatic improvement be distinguished from restored nerve function?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q1076379/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q1076379/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T08:40:14Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:25+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}