AbstractIn the lingual nerve of the rat, the number of myelinated fibers ranged from 3,215 to 3,744, with diameters ranging from 0.7 to 9.7 μ. The nerves were unimodal with a peak at 2–3 or 3–4 μ. In the chorda tympani, the number of myelinated fibers ranged from 444 to 538, with diameters ranging from 1.1 to 8.7 μ. The nerves were unimodal with a peak at 1–3 μ.Sixteen days after section of the lingual, chordalingual (the lingual nerve distal to the union with chorda tympani) and chorda tympani nerves as well as intracranial section of the facial nerve, significant weight losses were recorded for the submandibular and retrolingual glands. The greatest weight losses occurred after intracranial section of the facial nerve or section of the chordalingual nerve (retrolingual glands lost 42 and 39, submandibular glands lost 20 and 28 respectively). Intracranial section of the facial nerve demonstrates that the degree of weight loss is correlated with the number of myelinated fibers (1–3 μ diameter) which degenerate, and that the weight loss is not the result of operative damage to the vascular supply o
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