The submandibular salivary gland is located in the
floor of the mouth. The larger deep part of the gland lies on the
hyoglossus muscles, while the superficial part of the gland lies in the
digastric triangle.
The duct for this gland, Wharton's duct, is about 5 cm long and emerges from the superficial part of the gland. It opens in the floor of the mouth on the sublingual papilla at the side of the frenulum of the tongue. Wharton's duct crosses over the lingual nerve along it's course anteriorly.
Innervation for salivary secretion is from the superior salivary nucleus in the pons by the nervus intermedius (of the facial nerve CN VII), then the chorda tympani and the lingual nerve to the submandibular ganglion. It synapses here and is carried to the gland by filaments of the lingual nerve (trigeminal nerve CN V).