Angiography in a 64-year-old woman reveals a laterally expanding lesion within the cavernous sinus. Further tests confirm that this lesion is an aneurysm of the internal carotid artery. Which of the following is affected first by this expanding lesion owing to its approximation to the internal carotid artery?
a. The maxillary nerve
b. The trochlear nerve
c. The mandibular nerve
d. The oculomotor nerve
e. The abducens nerve