Optic tract

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Brain: Optic tract
The left optic nerve and the optic tracts.
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Latin	tractus opticus
Gray's	subject #189 814
Part of	Visual system
Components
Artery
Vein
BrainInfo/UW	hier-443
MeSH	[1]

The optic tract is a part of the visual system in the brain.

It is a continuation of the optic nerve and runs from the optic chiasm (where half of the information from each eye crosses sides, and half stays on the same side) to the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus.

Right vs. left

The relationships of the retinal fibers to the optic tracts are as follows:

optic tract	temporal retinal fibers	nasal retinal fiber
right optic tract	from the right eye	from the left eye
left optic tract	from the left eye	from the right eye

Pathology

A lesion in the left optic tract will cause right-sided homonomous hemianopsia.

Additional images

Diagram of hippocampus

Schematic diagram of the primate lateral geniculate nucleus.

Superficial dissection of brain-stem. Ventral view.

Coronal section of brain through intermediate mass of third ventricle.

Hind- and mid-brains; postero-lateral view.

Scheme showing central connections of the optic nerves and optic tracts.

Base of brain.

Section of brain showing upper surface of temporal lobe.

Dissection showing the course of the cerebrospinal fibers.

Human brainstem anterior view 2 description.JPG

Human brainstem anterior view

Nerves of head and neck: the cranial nerves

I-IV: olfactory - optic - oculomotor - trochlear

V: trigeminal: trigeminal ganglion
V1: ophthalmic: lacrimal - frontal (supratrochlear, supraorbital) - nasociliary (long root of ciliary, long ciliary, infratrochlear, posterior ethmoidal, anterior ethmoidal) - ciliary ganglion (short ciliary)
V2: maxillary: middle meningeal - in the pterygopalatine fossa (zygomatic, zygomaticotemporal, zygomaticofacial, sphenopalatine, posterior superior alveolar)
in the infraorbital canal/infraorbital nerve (middle superior alveolar, anterior superior alveolar)
on the face (inferior palpebral, external nasal, superior labial, infraorbital plexus) - pterygopalatine ganglion (deep petrosal, nerve of pterygoid canal)
branches of distribution (palatine, nasopalatine, pharyngeal)
V3: mandibular: nervus spinosus - medial pterygoid - anterior (masseteric, deep temporal, buccal, lateral pterygoid)
posterior (auriculotemporal, lingual, inferior alveolar, mylohyoid, mental) - otic ganglion - submandibular ganglion

VI: abducens

VII: facial: nervus intermedius - geniculate - inside facial canal (greater petrosal, nerve to the stapedius, chorda tympani)
at exit from stylomastoid foramen (posterior auricular, digastric - stylohyoid)
on face (temporal, zygomatic, buccal, mandibular, cervical)

VIII: vestibulocochlear: cochlear (striae medullares, lateral lemniscus) - vestibular

IX: glossopharyngeal: fasciculus solitarius - nucleus ambiguus - ganglia (superior, petrous) - tympanic - carotid sinus

X: vagus: ganglia (jugular, nodose) - Alderman's nerve - in the neck (pharyngeal branch, superior laryngeal ext and int, recurrent laryngeal)
in the thorax (pulmonary branches, esophageal plexus) - in the abdomen (gastric plexuses, celiac plexus, gastric plexus)

XI: accessory XII: hypoglossal

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