The term ophthalmoplegia means paralysis
of the muscles of the eye.
There are several forms of this condition, including:
Internal Ophthalmoplegia |
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... is the case in which the muscles inside the
eyeball are paralyzed.
These are the iris - which controls the amount of light allowed
into the eye, and
the ciliary
muscles - which control the shape of the lens, hence
the ability to focus on specific objects (near or far away). |
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External Ophthalmoplegia |
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... is the case in which the muscles that move the eyeball
are paralyzed.
In this case, it may not be a problem to focus on near or distant
objects in either bright or dim light, but the only way to look
in a different direction would be to move the whole head (at
the neck). |
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Chronic Progressive External Opthalmoplegia |
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... is a progressive disease of the extrinsic eye muscles.
It can lead to ptosis (drooping of the upper eyelid) and eventually
to paralysis of the affected muscles. |
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Internuclear Ophtalmoplegia |
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... is due to a lesion in the brainstem and is not unusual
in cases of multiple
sclerosis. |
This section includes short definitions of clinical terms that refer
to disorders of the visual system.
For definitions of other terms in this category,
choose from the list to the left.
Other related pages include the diagram
of the eye, definitions
of parts of the eye, and the section
about clinical
procedures used to investigate the eye and visual system.
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