This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Edinger-Westphal nucleus is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
| Brain: Edinger-Westphal nucleus | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Section through superior colliculus (unlabeled) showing path of oculomotor nerve. ("Edinger-Westphal nucleus" is not on diagram, but would be near oculomotor nuclei.) | ||
 |
||
| Figure showing the different groups of cells, which constitute, according to Perlia, the nucleus of origin of the oculomotor nerve. 1. Posterior dorsal nucleus. 1’. Posterior ventral nucleus. 2. Anterior dorsal nucleus. 2’. Anterior ventral nucleus. 3. Central nucleus. 4. Nucleus of Edinger and Westphal. 5. Antero-internal nucleus. 6. Antero-external nucleus. 8. Crossed fibers. 9. Trochlear nerve, with 9’, its nucleus of origin, and 9", its decussation. 10. Third ventricle. M, M. Median line. |
||
| Latin | nuclei accessorii nervi oculomotorii | |
| NeuroNames | hier-489 | |
| Dorlands/Elsevier | n_11/12580082 | |
The Edinger-Westphal nucleus (also known as the accessory oculomotor nucleus ) is the accessory parasympathetic cranial nerve nucleus of the oculomotor nerve (cranial nerve III), supplying the constricting muscles of the iris.
Contents |
Location
The paired nuclei are posterior to the main motor nucleus (oculomotor nucleus) and anterolateral to the cerebral aqueduct in the rostral midbrain at the level of the superior colliculus.
It is the most rostral of the parasympathetic nuclei in the brain stem.
Function
The Edinger-Westphal nucleus supplies preganglionic parasympathetic fibers to the eye, constricting the pupil and accommodating the lens.
Eponym
The nucleus is named for both Ludwig Edinger, who demonstrated it in the fetus in 1885, and for Karl Friedrich Otto Westphal, who demonstrated it in the adult in 1887.[1]
See also
Additional images
 The cranial nerve nuclei schematically represented; dorsal view. Motor nuclei in red; sensory in blue. |
 Nuclei of origin of cranial motor nerves schematically represented; lateral view. |
 Primary terminal nuclei of the afferent (sensory) cranial nerves schematically represented; lateral view. |
References
External links
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 28 August 2008, at 09:07.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Edinger-Westphal nucleus".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.