Abducens

Pronunciation

• US IPA: /æb.ˈdu.ËŒsÉ›nz/, /æb.ˈdju.ËŒsÉ›nz/

Alternative forms

• abducent nerve
• abducens nerve

Origin

Shortening of "abducens nerve", in turn from Latin nervus abducens, from abducent, abducens

Full definition of abducens

Noun

1. (anatomy) The abducens nerve: the nerve in humans and most animals that governs the motion of the lateral rectus muscle of the eye. Early 19^th century.

• 1895, System of Surgery, Although the abducens runs in a fissure along the so-often fractured petrous bone, a rupture of the nerve-trunk has never been noticed in autopsies save once

Synonyms

• sixth nerve