Sensory root of ciliary ganglion

Sensory fibers from the eyeball (the cornea, iris, and ciliary body) run posteriorly through the short ciliary nerves and pass through the ciliary ganglion without forming synapses. They leave the ciliary ganglion in the sensory root of ciliary ganglion, which joins the nasociliary nerve -- a branch of the ophthalmic nerve. From there, the signal travels back through the ophthalmic nerve to the trigeminal nerve and back into specific nuclei in the thalamus where they are relayed to areas in the cerebral cortex.