The chorda tympani does not immediately exit the temporal bone, but ascends to enter the middle ear through its posterior wall, passing near the upper aspect of the tympanic membrane between the malleus and incus (Fig. 8.133B). It then exits the middle ear through a canal leading to the petrotympanic fissure and exits the skull through this fissure to join the lingual nerve in the infratemporal fossa.
Transmission of sound