oculomotor nerve

American  

noun

Anatomy.

1. either one of the third pair of cranial nerves, consisting chiefly of motor fibers that innervate most of the muscles of the eyeball.

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oculomotor nerve British  

noun

1. the third cranial nerve, which supplies most of the eye muscles

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Etymology

Origin of oculomotor nerve

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

If light levels are too high, the parasympathetic system sends a signal out from the Eddinger–Westphal nucleus through the oculomotor nerve.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

The pupillary light reflex involves sensory input through the optic nerve and motor response through the oculomotor nerve to the ciliary ganglion, which projects to the circular fibers of the iris.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

To keep the stimulus in focus, the eye also needs to change the shape of the lens, which is controlled through the parasympathetic fibers of the oculomotor nerve.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

The oculomotor nerve controls all the other extraocular muscles, as well as a muscle of the upper eyelid.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

One side of a card might read, “Show me, sir, the lesions of Horner’s syndrome & oculomotor nerve paralysis. And what the divvil’s an Argyll Robertson pupil?”

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French