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Updated: Mar 11, 2026

Optic Nerve Transection: A Model of Adult Neuron Apoptosis in the Central Nervous System
Published on: May 12, 2011
Microsurgical Anatomy of the Oculomotor Nerve
Hae Kwan Park1, Hyung Keun Rha1, Kyung Jin Lee1
1Department of Neurosurgery, Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Abstract:
The oculomotor nerve supplies the extraocular muscles. It also supplies the ciliary and sphincter pupillae muscles through the ciliary ganglion. The nerve fibers leave the midbrain through the most medial part of the cerebral peduncle and enter the interpeduncular cistern. After the oculomotor nerve emerges from the interpeduncular fossa, it enters the cavernous sinus slightly lateral and anterior to the dorsum sellae. It enters the orbit through the superior orbital fissure, after exiting the cavernous sinus, to innervate the extraocular muscles. Therefore, knowledge of the detailed anatomy and pathway of the oculomotor nerve is critical for the management of lesions located in the middle cranial fossa and the clival, cavernous, and orbital regions. This review describes the microsurgical anatomy of the oculomotor nerve and presents pictures illustrating this nerve and its surrounding connective and neurovascular structures. Clin. Anat. 30:21-31, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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