Abducens nerve palsy and Horner's syndrome revisited

Sympathetic fibers destined for the eye join the abducens nerve for a short distance within the cavernous sinus; thus, a unilateral sixth nerve palsy with an ipsilateral Horner's syndrome is of significant localizing value. We report two cases of cavernous sinus lesions producing an ipsilateral abducens palsy and Horner's syndrome: one case due to an intrinsic and the other to an extrinsic lesion of the sinus region.