Sublingual nerve

Sublingual nerve refers to the terminal part of the lingual nerve that innervates the mucosa of the undersurface of the tongue, after the nerve has crossed the submandibular gland and the ganglion.

Once the lingual nerve–a branch of the posterior division of mandibular nerve–reaches the floor of the oral cavity, it continues anteriorly inside the lower gingival sulcus. The nerve lies underneath the lingual mucosa, while remaining superficial to the surface of the submandibular gland and ganglion. Distal to the ganglion, the lingual nerve turns medially to come to lie underneath the tongue mucosa–hence called sublingual nerve–where it ends up providing sensory innervation to the under surface of the tongue, all the way to its tip.