What is the optic nerve?

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The optic nerve is called the optic nerve (second cranial nerve). Gray's Anatomy (1918) describes it as the second cranial nerve.

Summary

The optic nerve is called the optic nerve (second cranial nerve). Gray's Anatomy (1918) describes it as the second cranial nerve.

What it is

  • The second cranial nerve.
  • Carries visual information from the retina to the brain.
  • Made entirely of central nervous system tissue.

Where it is

  • Leaves the back of the eyeball.
  • Passes through the optic canal into the skull.
  • The two optic nerves meet at the optic chiasm before their fibers continue to the visual cortex.

Sources

According to Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body (1918, public domain):

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