Extraocular muscles
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Hacking C, Bell D, Knipe H, et al. Extraocular muscles. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 19 Jan 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-10415
Permalink:
rID:
10415
Article created:
Disclosures:
At the time the article was created Jeremy Jones had no recorded disclosures.
View Jeremy Jones's current disclosures
Last revised:
Disclosures:
At the time the article was last revised Craig Hacking had no recorded disclosures.
View Craig Hacking's current disclosures
Revisions:
19 times, by
12 contributors -
see full revision history and disclosures
Systems:
Sections:
Synonyms:
- Muscle cone
- Recti muscles
- Oblique muscles
- Extraocular muscle (EOM)
- Muscular cone
- Extraocular muscles (EOMs)
- Extraocular musculature
- Orbital muscle cone
- Muscle cones
The extraocular muscles (EOMs) are the six skeletal muscles that insert onto the eye and hence control eye movements.
On this page:
Terminology
The extraocular muscles maybe subdivided into the recti muscles and the oblique muscles.
Action
A summary of the principal actions of each muscle are given below. Please see each individual article for a more detailed description.
- superior rectus: elevation in neutral gaze and abduction
- superior oblique: internal rotation in neutral gaze, depression in adduction
- medial rectus: adduction
- lateral rectus: abduction
- inferior oblique: external rotation in neutral gaze, elevation in adduction
- inferior rectus: depression in neutral gaze and adduction
Arterial supply
Muscular branches of ophthalmic artery.
Venous drainage
- superior ophthalmic vein to cavernous sinus
- inferior ophthalmic vein to cavernous sinus and/or pterygoid plexus
- infraorbital vein to pterygoid plexus
Innervation
-
oculomotor nerve:
- superior division: superior rectus muscle
- inferior division: medial rectus, inferior rectus, and inferior oblique muscles
-
trochlear nerve:
- superior oblique muscle
-
abducens nerve:
- lateral rectus muscle
Related pathology
See also
References
- 1. Chummy S. Sinnatamby. Last's Anatomy. (2018) ISBN: 9780702033940
Incoming Links
Articles:
- Medial rectus muscle
- POLG-related disorders
- Myofascial cone
- Ocular external rotators
- Ocular abductors
- Orbital lymphoma
- Proptosis
- Duane syndrome
- Saturday night retinopathy
- Oculomotor nucleus
- Superior ophthalmic vein
- Superior tarsal muscle
- Superior orbital fissure
- Levator palpebrae superioris muscle
- Eye movements
- Extraocular muscle involvement in thyroid associated orbitopathy (mnemonic)
- Caroticocavernous fistula
- Enlarged extraocular muscles (differential)
- Ophthalmoplegia
- Chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia
Cases:
- Extraocular muscles (Gray's illustration)
- Caroticocavernous fistula
- Cervical dural arteriovenous fistula
- Multifocal orbital and calvarial fractures
- Orbital medial wall blow-out fracture
- Basal cell carcinoma of the eyelid
- Idiopathic orbital inflammation
- Orbital medial wall and floor blow-out fracture
- Graves ophthalmopathy
- Graves ophthalmopathy
- Orbital medial wall blow-out fracture
- Blow-out fracture of the orbit and retrobulbar hemorrhage
- Blow-out fracture of the orbital medial wall
- Orbital medial wall blow-out fracture
- Orbital floor blow-out fracture
- Schwannoma of the orbital cavity
- Orbital medial wall and floor blow-out fracture
- Orbital blow-out fracture, ocular lens dislocation, and retrobulbar hemorrhage
- Giant frontal sinus osteoma
- Orbitotomy in Graves ophthalmopathy
Related articles: Anatomy: Head and neck
- skeleton of the head and neck
-
cranial vault
- scalp (mnemonic)
- fontanelle
-
sutures
- calvarial
- facial
- frontozygomatic suture
- frontomaxillary suture
- frontolacrimal suture
- frontonasal suture
- temporozygomatic suture
- zygomaticomaxillary suture
- parietotemporal suture (parietomastoid suture)
- occipitotemporal suture (occipitomastoid suture)
- sphenofrontal suture
- sphenozygomatic suture
- spheno-occipital suture (not a true suture)
- lacrimomaxillary suture
- nasomaxillary suture
- internasal suture
- basal/internal
- skull landmarks
- frontal bone
- temporal bone
- parietal bone
- occipital bone
- skull base (foramina)
-
facial bones
- midline single bones
- paired bilateral bones
- cervical spine
- hyoid bone
- laryngeal cartilages
-
cranial vault
- muscles of the head and neck
- muscles of the tongue (mnemonic)
- muscles of mastication
-
facial muscles
- epicranius muscle
- circumorbital and palpebral muscles
- nasal muscles
-
buccolabial muscles
- elevators, retractors and evertors of the upper lip
- levator labii superioris alaeque nasalis muscle
- levator labii superioris muscle
- zygomaticus major muscle
- zygomaticus minor muscle
- levator anguli oris muscle
- malaris muscle
- risorius muscle
- depressors, retractors and evertors of the lower lip
- depressor labii inferioris muscle
- depressor anguli oris muscle
- mentalis muscle
- compound sphincter
-
orbicularis oris muscle
- incisivus labii superioris muscle
- incisivus labii inferioris muscle
-
orbicularis oris muscle
- muscle of mastication
- modiolus
- elevators, retractors and evertors of the upper lip
- muscles of the middle ear
- orbital muscles
- muscles of the soft palate
- pharyngeal muscles
- suprahyoid muscles
- infrahyoid muscles
- intrinsic muscles of the larynx
- muscles of the neck
- platysma muscle
- longus colli muscle
- longus capitis muscle
- scalenus anterior muscle
- scalenus medius muscle
- scalenus posterior muscle
- scalenus pleuralis muscle
- sternocleidomastoid muscle
-
suboccipital muscles
- rectus capitis posterior major muscle
- rectus capitis posterior minor muscle
- obliquus capitis superior muscle
- obliquus capitis inferior muscle
- accessory muscles of the neck
- deep cervical fascia
-
deep spaces of the neck
- anterior cervical space
- buccal space
- carotid space
- danger space
- deep cervical fascia
- infratemporal fossa
- masticator space
- parapharyngeal space
- stylomandibular tunnel
- parotid space
- pharyngeal (superficial) mucosal space
- perivertebral space
- posterior cervical space
- pterygopalatine fossa
- retropharyngeal space
- suprasternal space (of Burns)
- visceral space
- surgical triangles of the neck
- orbit
- ear
- paranasal sinuses
- upper respiratory tract
- viscera of the neck
- blood supply of the head and neck
-
arterial supply
-
common carotid artery
- carotid body
- carotid bifurcation
- subclavian artery
- variants
-
common carotid artery
- venous drainage
-
arterial supply
- innervation of the head and neck
-
cranial nerves
- olfactory nerve (CN I)
- optic nerve (CN II)
- oculomotor nerve (CN III)
- trochlear nerve (CN IV)
-
trigeminal nerve (CN V) (mnemonic)
- trigeminal ganglion
- ophthalmic division
- maxillary division
- mandibular division
- abducens nerve (CN VI)
- facial nerve (CN VII)
-
vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII)
- vestibular ganglion (Scarpa's ganglion)
- glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX)
- vagus nerve (CN X)
- (spinal) accessory nerve (CN XI)
- hypoglossal nerve (CN XII)
- parasympathetic ganglia of the head and neck
- cervical sympathetic ganglia
- greater occipital nerve
- third occipital nerve
-
cervical plexus
- muscular branches
- longus capitis
- longus colli
- scalenes
- geniohyoid
- thyrohyoid
-
ansa cervicalis
- omohyoid (superior and inferior bellies separately)
- sternothyroid
- sternohyoid
- phrenic nerve
- contribution to the accessory nerve (CN XI)
- cutaneous branches
- muscular branches
- brachial plexus
- pharyngeal plexus
-
cranial nerves
- lymphatic drainage of the head and neck
- embryological development of the head and neck
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