50-year-old man presents to the speech therapist complaining of dryness of the mouth. The therapist performs a swallowing study and, on examination, finds that the man has a lack of salivary secretion from the submandibular gland. This indicates a lesion of which of the following nervous structures?
Lingual nerve at its origin Lesser petrosal nerve Superior cervical ganglion Chorda tympani in the middle ear cavity