The other ascends to supply the tensor tympani muscle, which occupies a small bony canal above and parallel to the pharyngotympanic tube in the temporal bone.
The buccal nerve is a branch of the anterior trunk of the mandibular nerve [V3] (Fig. 8.148). It is predominantly a sensory nerve, but may also carry the motor innervation to the lateral pterygoid muscle and to part of the temporalis muscle.