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Cranial Nerves
 
 

CN IV: Trochlear Nerve

 
 
 
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On this page:Trochlear Nerve PalsyMotor Pathway
 View Topic Outline

Overview

    • Role

    • Somatic motor - eye intorsion and depression (through contraction of the contralateral superior oblique).

Trochlear Nerve Palsy

    • Abnormalities

    • Eye deviation upward and rotation outward
    • Vertical diplopia
    • Inability to look down and in - difficulty descending stairs
    • Head tilting away from the side of the lesion

    • Causes of Trochlear Nerve Palsy

    • Congenital absence
    • Closed head injury

Motor Pathway

  • Cortical Centre
    Primary motor cortex (frontal lobe)
     
     
    Trochlear Nucleus
    Tegmentum (midbrain)
     
    Decussation
    Upper medulla
    Foramen
    Superior orbital fissure
     
     
    Muscle
    Superior oblique

Overview

  • The trochlear nerve is the longest intracranial nerve in the body and has the least axons, making it the most susceptible to stretch damage in the case of closed head trauma.
 
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