S04: Injury of cranial nerves

S04.0: Injury of optic nerve and pathways

Various nerves run from the brain to the sensory organs in the head, and to organs in the body. These nerves are called cranial nerves. These nerves are important in seeing, tasting or hearing, for example. But the cranial nerves also control important functions in the body, such as in the lungs and heart.

You have injured your optic nerves. But you may also have injured a part of your brain which is responsible for your sight. To be able to see, light needs to fall into our eye. The light falls through the eye to a layer inside the eye. From there, the optic nerve routes the information on to the brain. The brain converts these impressions to images. If the optic nerve or brain is injured, you can have various problems related to your sight. For example, you may be able to see little or nothing from one eye. But you may also have problems with your sight in both eyes.