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Nerve: Oculomotor nerve
Nerves of the orbit. Seen from above.
Latin	nervus oculomotorius
Gray's	subject #198 884
Innervates	Superior rectus, Inferior rectus, Medial rectus, Inferior oblique, Ciliary
From	oculomotor nucleus, Edinger-Westphal nucleus
To	superior branch, inferior branch
MeSH	Oculomotor+Nerve

The oculomotor nerve is the third of twelve paired cranial nerves. It controls most of the eye movements (cranial nerves IV and VI also do some), constriction of the pupil, and holding the eyelid open.

Contents 1 Path 1.1 Nuclei 1.2 Emergence from brain 1.3 Superior and inferior rami 2 Testing the oculomotor nerve 2.1 Eye muscles 2.2 Pupillary reflex 3 Additional images 4 See also 5 External links

The oculomotor nerve arises from the anterior aspect of mesencephalon (midbrain). There are two nuclei for the oculomotor nerve:

• The oculomotor nucleus originates at the level of the superior colliculus. The muscles it controls are the ciliary muscle (affecting accommodation), and all extraocular muscles except for the superior oblique muscle and the lateral rectus muscle.

• The Edinger-Westphal nucleus supplies parasympathetic fibres to the eye via the ciliary ganglion, and thus controls pupil constriction.

On emerging from the brain, the nerve is invested with a sheath of pia mater, and enclosed in a prolongation from the arachnoid.

It passes between the superior cerebellar (below) and posterior cerebral arteries (above), and then pierces the dura mater in front of and lateral to the posterior clinoid process, passing between the free and attached borders of the tentorium cerebelli.

It runs along the lateral wall of the cavernous sinus, above the other orbital nerves, receiving in its course one or two filaments from the cavernous plexus of the sympathetic, and a communicating branch from the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal.

It then divides into two branches, which enter the orbit through the superior orbital fissure, between the two heads of the lateral rectus.

Here the nerve is placed below the trochlear nerve and the frontal and lacrimal branches of the ophthalmic nerve, while the nasociliary nerve is placed between its two rami:

• superior branch of oculomotor nerve
• inferior branch of oculomotor nerve

Cranial nerves III, IV and VI are usually tested together. The examiner typically instructs the patient to hold his head still and follow only with the eyes a finger or penlight that circumscribes a large "H" in front of the patient. By observing the eye movements and eyelids, the examiner is able to obtain more information about the extraocular muscles, the levator palpebrae superioris muscle, and cranial nerves III, IV, and VI.

Since the oculomotor nerve controls most of the eye muscles, it may be easier to detect damage to it. Damage to this nerve, termed oculomotor nerve palsy is also known by the down n' out symptoms, because of the position of the affected eye.

The oculomotor nerve also controls the constriction of the pupils. This can be tested in two main ways. By moving a finger towards a person's face to induce accommodation, as well as them going cross-eyed, their pupils should constrict.

Shining a light into their eyes should also make their pupils constrict. Both pupils should constrict at the same time, independent of what eye the light is actually shone on.

Dura mater and its processes exposed by removing part of the right half of the skull, and the brain.	Tentorium cerebelli from above.	Coronal section through mid-brain.	Mesal aspect of a brain sectioned in the median sagittal plane.
Hind- and mid-brains; postero-lateral view.	Median sagittal section of brain.	Dissection showing the course of the cerebrospinal fibers.	Plan of oculomotor nerve.
Nerves of the orbit, and the ciliary ganglion. Side view.	Alveolar branches of superior maxillary nerve and sphenopalatine ganglion.	Figure showing the mode of innervation of the Recti medialis and lateralis of the eye.	Oblique section through the right cavernous sinus.
Dissection showing origins of right ocular muscles, and nerves entering by the superior orbital fissure.	Pathways in the Ciliary Ganglion.

• Anisocoria
• Oculomotor nucleus

• MedEd at Loyola GrossAnatomy/h_n/cn/cn1/cn3.htm
• oph/183 at eMedicine - "Oculomotor nerve palsy"
• MeSH Oculomotor+Nerve
• NeuroNames hier-479
• Norman/Georgetown cranialnerves (III)

v • d • e Nerves of head and neck: the cranial nerves
I-IV	olfactory • optic • oculomotor (superior branch, inferior branch) • trochlear
V: trigeminal	trigeminal ganglion • ophthalmic • maxillary • mandibular
VI: abducens	no significant branches
VII: facial	nervus intermedius • geniculate • inside facial canal (greater petrosal, nerve to the stapedius, chorda tympani) • at exit from stylomastoid foramen (posterior auricular, digastric • stylohyoid) • on face (temporal, zygomatic, buccal, mandibular, cervical)
VIII: vestibulocochlear	cochlear (striae medullares, lateral lemniscus) • vestibular (Scarpa's ganglion)
IX: glossopharyngeal	nucleus ambiguus • ganglia (superior, petrous) • tympanic (tympanic plexus, lesser petrosal) • carotid sinus • pharyngeal branches • pharyngeal plexus
X: vagus	ganglia (jugular, nodose) • in the jugular fossa (meningeal branch, auricular branch) • in the neck (pharyngeal branch, superior laryngeal ext and int, recurrent laryngeal, superior cervical cardiac) • in the thorax (inferior cardiac, pulmonary branches, anterior vagal trunk, posterior vagal trunk) • in the abdomen (celiac branches - renal branches - hepatic branches of anterior vagal trunk - anterior gastric branches of anterior vagal trunk - posterior gastric branches of posterior vagal trunk)
XI-XII	accessory • hypoglossal