Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Book

Neuroanatomy, Abducens Nucleus

In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
Affiliations
Free Books & Documents
Book

Neuroanatomy, Abducens Nucleus

Anisha N. Somani et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

The abducens nuclei appear as paired nuclei, located within the pons at the pontomedullary junction of the brainstem, comprised primarily of motor neurons and interneurons. Neurons from the abducens nuclei provide innervation to the lateral rectus muscles and allow for conjugate horizontal gaze by sending signals to the contralateral oculomotor nuclei that innervate the medial rectus muscles. See Image. Pons Facial Colliculus Cross Section.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Anisha Somani declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Ore-ofe Adesina declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

    1. Park HS, Chung MS, Shin DS, Jung YW, Park JS. Whole courses of the oculomotor, trochlear, and abducens nerves, identified in sectioned images and surface models. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2015 Feb;298(2):436-43. - PubMed
    1. Büttner-Ennever JA. The extraocular motor nuclei: organization and functional neuroanatomy. Prog Brain Res. 2006;151:95-125. - PubMed
    1. Kunchok A, Todd MJ, Halmagyi GM. Selective total conjugate horizontal gaze paralysis due to bilateral abducens nucleus lesions. J Neurol. 2016 Dec;263(12):2538-2539. - PubMed
    1. Horn AKE, Horng A, Buresch N, Messoudi A, Härtig W. Identification of Functional Cell Groups in the Abducens Nucleus of Monkey and Human by Perineuronal Nets and Choline Acetyltransferase Immunolabeling. Front Neuroanat. 2018;12:45. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yamaguchi K, Honma K. Development of the human abducens nucleus: a morphometric study. Brain Dev. 2012 Oct;34(9):712-8. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources