trochlear nucleus

Nucleus in the midbrain at the level of the inferior colliculus near the midline, containing the motor neurons giving rise to the trochlear nerve, innervating the contralateral superior oblique extraocular muscle of the eye (Brodal, Neurological Anatomy, 3rd ed, 1981, pg. 533). Every claim on this page comes from the Leumas anatomy graph and carries its source.

What the trochlear nucleus is

Nucleus in the midbrain at the level of the inferior colliculus near the midline, containing the motor neurons giving rise to the trochlear nerve, innervating the contralateral superior oblique extraocular muscle of the eye (Brodal, Neurological Anatomy, 3rd ed, 1981, pg. 533). The atlas records it as a nerve at the organ scale in the human body.

Where the trochlear nucleus is

It sits within the nervous system. Not positioned individually. Drawn inside the structure this dataset says contains it — the containment is asserted, the exact spot within it is not.

What the trochlear nucleus connects to

The atlas records 6 typed relationships for it, across 2 kinds of connection. part of brainstem, midbrain and midbrain tegmentum.

Supply and innervation

This dataset asserts no arterial supply, venous drainage or innervation for the trochlear nucleus. Only a minority of structures carry those edges here, so an empty answer means nothing has been recorded — not that there is nothing to record.

Also called

Also recorded as fourth cranial nerve nucleus, motor nucleus IV, nIV, nucleus nervi trochlearis, nucleus of trochlear nerve and trochlear IV nucleus, and 1 more. Searching any of those names reaches this page.

Source

Uberon multi-species anatomy ontology (Mungall et al.), CC BY 4.0. Term UBERON:0002722, version 2026-06-19, retrieved 2026-08-24. Licence: CC-BY-4.0.

• Part of: brainstem, midbrain and midbrain tegmentum.
• A kind of: cranial nerve nucleus, nucleus of brain and nucleus of midbrain tegmentum.

Questions

Where is the trochlear nucleus?

It sits within the nervous system. Not positioned individually. Drawn inside the structure this dataset says contains it — the containment is asserted, the exact spot within it is not.

What does the trochlear nucleus connect to?

Part of: brainstem, midbrain and midbrain tegmentum.

Is the trochlear nucleus the same in other species?

Leumas holds the same relationship vocabulary for every species it carries, so where another dataset records this structure you can put the two side by side on /compare.