Meaning & use
abducens
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablemedicalspecialist
The sixth cranial nerve, which controls the muscle that moves the eye outward away from the nose.
Grammar: Usually singular and normally in the phrase abducens nerve: damage to the abducens nerve.
Patterns
- the abducens nerve
- damage to the abducens
- abducens palsy
The abducens carries signals to the muscle that turns the eye outward.
A lesion of the abducens can cause double vision.
Students compared the abducens with the oculomotor and trochlear nerves.
Word forms
| plural | abducenses |
|---|
Common combinations
- abducens nerve
- The abducens nerve was tested during the eye examination.
- abducens nucleus
- The abducens nucleus lies in the brainstem.
- abducens palsy
- Abducens palsy may make the eye drift inward.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sixth cranial nerve
- The descriptive anatomical name; abducens is the shorter technical term.
Word family
- abducent adjective
- Drawing a body part away from the midline.
- abduction noun
- Movement away from the midline; also the crime of kidnapping.
- abduct verb
- In anatomy, to move a limb away from the midline.
Commonly confused: abducens or abductor? abducens or adducens?
abducens vs abductor
An abductor can be a kidnapper or a muscle; abducens is specifically the sixth cranial nerve.
abducens vs adducens
Adducens/adduct refers to movement toward the midline, the opposite direction.
Practice
An injury to the abducens would most directly affect which action?
Choose one answer.
The abducens nerve controls the eye muscle that moves the eye away from the nose. The other actions involve cranial nerves or limb joints not controlled by the abducens.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “abducens”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.