Cranial Nerve II - Optic Nerve

By: Tim Taylor

Last Updated: Nov 2, 2020

Cranial nerve II is the optic nerve. The optic nerves are the second pair of the cranial nerves, and lead from the eyes to the brain. The sensory cell bodies of the nerve fibers occur in ganglia within the eyes. Their axons (conductors of impulses away from their point of origin) pass through the orbits into the brain. The optic nerves hold the number II in the order of cranial nerves.