Diseases

Abducens Nerve Diseases

Diseases of the sixth cranial (abducens) nerve or its nucleus in the pons. The nerve may be injured along its course in the pons, intracranially as it travels along the base of the brain, in the cavernous sinus, or at the level of superior orbital fissure or orbit. Dysfunction of the nerve causes lateral rectus muscle weakness, resulting in horizontal diplopia that is maximal when the affected eye is abducted and ESOTROPIA. Common conditions associated with nerve injury include INTRACRANIAL HYPERTENSION; CRANIOCEREBRAL TRAUMA; ISCHEMIA; and INFRATENTORIAL NEOPLASMS.

National Library of MedicineMedical Subject Headings2026

Structured Summary

Abstract

Diseases of the sixth cranial (abducens) nerve or its nucleus in the pons. The nerve may be injured along its course in the pons, intracranially as it travels along the base of the brain, in the cavernous sinus, or at the level of superior orbital fissure or orbit. Dysfunction of the nerve causes lateral rectus muscle weakness, resulting in horizontal diplopia that is maximal when the affected eye is abducted and ESOTROPIA. Common conditions associated with nerve injury include INTRACRANIAL HYPERTENSION; CRANIOCEREBRAL TRAUMA; ISCHEMIA; and INFRATENTORIAL NEOPLASMS.

MeSH Record

Classification

Broader headings

Narrower headings

Related Concepts

Knowledge Graph

Loading graph…

Drag nodes to rearrange; hover to trace links; click a node to open its page.

MeSH Record

Synonyms

33 entry terms
  • Cranial Nerve VI Diseases
  • Sixth Cranial Nerve Diseases
  • Sixth Cranial Nerve Disorders
  • VIth Cranial Nerve Diseases
  • Abducens Nerve Disease
  • 6th Nerve Palsy
  • Abducens Nerve Palsy
  • Abducens Palsy
  • Abducens Palsy, Childhood, Benign Recurrent
  • Benign Recurrent Abducens Palsy of Childhood
  • Benign Recurrent Abducens Palsy, Children
  • Cranial Nerve VI Palsy
  • Lateral Rectus Palsy
  • Sixth Cranial Nerve Palsy
  • Sixth Nerve Palsy
  • VI Nerve Palsy
  • 6th Nerve Palsies
  • Abducens Nerve Palsies
  • Abducens Palsies
  • Lateral Rectus Palsies
  • Palsies, 6th Nerve
  • Palsies, Abducens
  • Palsies, Abducens Nerve
  • Palsies, Lateral Rectus
  • Palsies, Sixth Nerve
  • Palsies, VI Nerve
  • Palsy, 6th Nerve
  • Palsy, Abducens
  • Palsy, Abducens Nerve
  • Palsy, Lateral Rectus
  • Palsy, Sixth Nerve
  • Palsy, VI Nerve
  • Sixth Nerve Palsies

MeSH Record

Aspects Covered

35 allowable subheadings

Indexed with the subheadings blood, cerebrospinal fluid, chemically induced, classification, complications, congenital, diagnosis, diagnostic imaging, diet therapy, drug therapy, economics, embryology, enzymology, epidemiology, ethnology, etiology, genetics, history, immunology, metabolism, microbiology, mortality, nursing, parasitology, pathology, physiopathology, prevention & control, psychology, radiotherapy, rehabilitation, surgery, therapy, urine, veterinary, virology.

MeSH Record

History Note

2000

MeSH Record

Previous Indexing

  • Abducens Nerve (1968-1980)
  • Cranial Nerve Diseases (1981-1999)
  • Peripheral Nervous System Diseases (1968-1980)

MeSH Hierarchy

Tree Number

  1. C10w.292w.150w

AMA Style

References

  1. National Library of Medicine. Abducens Nerve Diseases. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). 2026. Unique ID D020434. http://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/2026/D020434
  2. Abducens Nerve Diseases. In: Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_nerve_palsy
  3. Abducens Nerve Diseases. In: Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q317977