Which cranial nerves carry parasympathetic preganglionic fibers, and what is the distribution of these fibers?

The cranial nerves that carry parasympathetic preganglionic fibers are the oculomotor (III), facial (VII), glossopharyngeal (IX), and vagus (X) nerves. CN III supplies the eye via the ciliary ganglion, controlling pupil constriction and lens bulging for near vision. CN VII supplies the lacrimal and nasal glands and the submandibular and sublingual salivary glands via the pterygopalatine and submandibular ganglia. CN IX supplies the parotid salivary gland via the otic ganglion, while CN X gives rise to about 90% of all preganglionic parasympathetic fibers and distributes widely to thoracic and abdominal organs.

Preganglionic parasympathetic fibers arise from brain stem motor nuclei and travel in four cranial nerves. The oculomotor nerves (III) originate in the accessory oculomotor (Edinger-Westphal) nuclei, synapse in the ciliary ganglia inside the orbit, and supply the smooth muscles of the eye that constrict the pupil and bulge the lens for close focusing. The facial nerves (VII) contain fibers from the lacrimal nuclei, which synapse in the pterygopalatine ganglia and activate nasal and lacrimal glands, and fibers from the superior salivatory nuclei, which synapse in the submandibular ganglia and activate the submandibular and sublingual salivary glands. The glossopharyngeal nerves (IX) arise from the inferior salivatory nuclei, synapse in the otic ganglia, and activate the parotid salivary glands. The vagus nerves (X), which arise mostly from the dorsal motor nuclei of the medulla, account for about 90% of all preganglionic parasympathetic fibers. Vagus fibers synapse in terminal ganglia, often intramural ganglia in the walls of target organs, and supply the heart, lungs, esophagus, stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, small intestine, and proximal half of the large intestine via cardiac, pulmonary, esophageal, and abdominal plexuses. For cranial nerves III, VII, and IX, only the preganglionic fibers lie in these cranial nerves; many postganglionic fibers travel with branches of the trigeminal nerve toward the head.