optic nerve
noun
: either of the second pair of cranial nerves that pass from the retina to the optic chiasma and conduct visual stimuli to the brain see eye illustration
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Doctors there discovered damage to her optic nerve. 
Brendan Borrell, Outside Online, 28 Feb. 2017 Without his eyedrops, Pellegrin’s optic nerve would deteriorate under pressure inside his eyes; the blackness that occludes his peripheral vision would continue to encroach. Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 16 May 2022 All the information collected by sight is transmitted to the brain through a thick cable of fibers at the back of the eye called the optic nerve, the doctor explained, and the nerve in her left eye was hugely swollen. New York Times, 17 Mar. 2022 Pressure inside the eyes gradually erodes the optic nerve, creating blind spots—sometimes imperceptibly, at first. Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 16 May 2022 The cells converted that light into nerve signals that traveled to the back of his brain through an optic nerve. Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 20 Apr. 2022 These photoreceptors convert the light into electrical signals, which then travel to your brain via your optic nerve. Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 9 Apr. 2022 Disrupting the blood flow to and from your retina or optic nerve can also interrupt your visual pathway. Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 9 Apr. 2022 This condition is similar to MS, but the key difference is that demyelination primarily affects the spinal cord and optic nerve specifically, according to NORD. Sara Gaynes Levy, SELF, 7 Mar. 2022 See More
Brendan Borrell, Outside Online, 28 Feb. 2017 Without his eyedrops, Pellegrin’s optic nerve would deteriorate under pressure inside his eyes; the blackness that occludes his peripheral vision would continue to encroach. Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 16 May 2022 All the information collected by sight is transmitted to the brain through a thick cable of fibers at the back of the eye called the optic nerve, the doctor explained, and the nerve in her left eye was hugely swollen. New York Times, 17 Mar. 2022 Pressure inside the eyes gradually erodes the optic nerve, creating blind spots—sometimes imperceptibly, at first. Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 16 May 2022 The cells converted that light into nerve signals that traveled to the back of his brain through an optic nerve. Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 20 Apr. 2022 These photoreceptors convert the light into electrical signals, which then travel to your brain via your optic nerve. Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 9 Apr. 2022 Disrupting the blood flow to and from your retina or optic nerve can also interrupt your visual pathway. Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 9 Apr. 2022 This condition is similar to MS, but the key difference is that demyelination primarily affects the spinal cord and optic nerve specifically, according to NORD. Sara Gaynes Levy, SELF, 7 Mar. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1615, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
optic nerve
noun
: either of the pair of sensory nerves that comprise the second pair of cranial nerves, arise from the ventral part of the diencephalon, form an optic chiasma before passing to the eye and spreading over the anterior surface of the retina, and conduct visual stimuli to the brain
called also second cranial nerve