Quick Facts
Location: Posterior orbit.
Branches: Receives preganglionic parasympathetic fibers from the oculomotor nerve and send fibers to the short ciliary nerves.
Supply: Sensory and parasympathetic. Ciliary muscle and sphincter pupillae.
Location
The ciliary ganglion is a collection of postganglionic neuronal cell bodies that sit in the posterior aspect of the orbit, behind the eyeball.
Branches
The ciliary ganglion receives preganglionic parasympathetic fibers from the oculomotor nerve. The postganglionic fibers leaving the otic ganglion join up with the short ciliary nerves.
Supplied Structures
The fibers of the ciliary ganglion target the ciliary muscle and sphincter pupillae.
List of Clinical Correlates
—Accommodation reflex
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Ciliary Ganglion
The ciliary ganglion is located close to the orbital apex between the lateral aspect of the optic nerve and the lateral rectus muscle, inside fatty tissue.