Physiology
1. Innervates five extrinsic eye muscles
  1. Levator palpebrae superioris
  2. Medial rectus
  3. Superior rectus
  4. Inferior rectus
  5. Inferior oblique
Course
1. Nucleus sits in floor of cerebral aqueduct
  1. Subdivided into focus for each eye muscle
2. Nerve courses between
  1. Superior Cerebellar Artery and
  2. Posterior Cerebral Artery
3. Forward and lateral to Posterior Clinoid process
4. Cavernous Sinus lateral wall
5. Enters orbit via superior orbital fissure
Exam
1. Unilateral Pupil Paralysis:
  1. Increased Intracranial Pressure
  2. Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
2. Oculomotor Nerve palsy with pupil sparing
  1. Seen as complication with Diabetes Mellitus

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This page was written by Scott Moses, MD, and was last revised 1/26/2008. Please send comments and questions to the editor. Contact information may be found on the page About the Family Practice Notebook. These pages are best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0.