title: Microsurgical Anatomy of the Oculomotor Nerve.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hae Kwan
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hyung Keun
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Rha
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung Jin
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Chung Kee
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Chough
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Wonil
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Joo
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008866:Microsurgery; D009802:Oculomotor Nerve / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000601:surgery
keywords: cavernous sinus; oculomotor nerve; oculomotor nucleus; orbit