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Schematic diagram showing the anatomy of the cavernous sinus

Note that the internal carotid plexus accompanies the internal carotid artery in the cavernous sinus. It is composed of postganglionic sympathetic fibers ascending from the superior cervical ganglion, including fibers destined for the pupillary dilator muscle. Of the cranial nerves in the cavernous sinus, III, IV, V1, and V2 are located along the lateral wall, whereas VI passes more centrally and is, thus, more susceptible to damage from cavernous sinus pathology.

(Source: Kuybu O, Dossani RH. Cavernous sinus syndromes. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island [FL]: StatPearls Publishing, 2024. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International [CC BY 4.0] license, creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. Edited by Dr. Douglas J Lanska.)