(CN 6) Abducens nerve

Nuclei - The nucleus of the sixth cranial nerve lies in the caudal pontine tegmentum, just beneath the floor of the fourth ventricle.

Topography

The radicular fibers of the CN7 loop around the nucleus of the abducens nerve at this site. The radicular fibers of the abducens nerve traverse the pons and exit from the brainstem at the pontomedullary junction.

The abducens nerve then runs along the ventral surface of the pons lateral to the basilar artery, perforates the dura, and joins the other nerves to the eye muscles in the cavernous sinus.