Anything passing through the petrotympanic fissure
- The chorda tympani, which is responsible for the sense of taste, emits the fissure. From here, a thin wire is passed through to reach the lateral wall of the tympanic cavity. The chorda tympani splits from the facial nerve exiting the stylomastoid foramen and enters the tympanic cavity through the canaliculus for the chorda tympani. There, the chorda tympani exits the tympanic cavity through the petrotympanic fissure, passing between the malleus and the incus. It then joins the lingual nerve.