Lateral rectus muscle
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Jones J, Hacking C, Udhani C, et al. Lateral rectus muscle. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 05 Mar 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-10413
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rID:
10413
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At the time the article was created Jeremy Jones had no recorded disclosures.
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At the time the article was last revised Craig Hacking had no recorded disclosures.
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Systems:
Sections:
Synonyms:
- Lateral rectus
The lateral rectus muscle is one of the six extraocular muscles that control eye movements. It is responsible for abduction and is the only muscle that is innervated by the abducens nerve (CN VI).
On this page:
Summary
- innervation: abducens nerve (CN VI)
- origin: annulus of Zinn (tendinous ring)
- insertion: globe (anterior, lateral surface)
- primary function: one of three ocular abductors
Gross anatomy
Origin
Lateral rectus, along with the other rectus muscles, arises from the annulus of Zinn, the common tendinous ring at the apex of the orbit that surrounds the optic canal 1.
Insertion
Lateral rectus runs anteriorly on the lateral surface of the eye and inserts into the lateral surface of the sclera just posterior to the junction of cornea and sclera 2.
Arterial supply
Branches of the ophthalmic artery, itself a branch of the internal carotid artery.
Innervation
Lateral rectus is unique among the extraocular muscles in being supplied by the abducens nerve.
Action
The action of the lateral rectus is to abduct the eye (see figure 1) 1. Unlike most of the other extraocular muscles, it has no significant contribution to movement in the other ocular axes.
Etymology
Rectus comes from the Latin rectos, meaning straight 1.
Related pathology
-
oculomotor nerve palsy
- as the lateral rectus and superior oblique muscles are the only extraocular muscles not supplied by the oculomotor nerve, the unopposed force generated by these muscles results in depression and abduction of the affected eye
-
abducens nerve palsy
- as the lateral rectus is the primary ocular abductor, abducens nerve palsy results in adduction of the affected eye, due to unopposed effect primarily of the medial rectus muscle
- because of its long subarachnoid course and location in the Dorello canal, abducens nerve palsy can be an early sign of increased intracranial pressure
See also
References
- 1. Moore KL, Agur AMR, Dalley AF. Clinically Oriented Anatomy. (2013) ISBN: 9781451119459
- 2. Netter FH. Atlas of Human Anatomy. (2018) ISBN: 9780323393225
- 3. Imaging of the Head and Neck. Thieme. (2012) ISBN:3131505311. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
- 4. Gray's basic anatomy. Churchill Livingstone. ISBN:1455710784. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
Incoming Links
Articles:
- IgG4-related orbital disease
- Stability of the eye
- Abducens nerve palsy
- Facial colliculus syndrome
- Extraocular muscle nerve supply (mnemonic)
- Ciliary ganglion
- Myofascial cone
- Ocular abductors
- Orbital apex
- Greater wing of sphenoid
- Ocular globe
- Duane syndrome
- Senile calcific scleral plaques
- Internuclear ophthalmoplegia
- Orbital nerve supply
- Extraocular muscles
- Lacrimal artery
- Barrett's index
- Abducens nerve
- Eye movements
Cases:
- Sinonasal nonkeratinizing squamous cell carcinoma
- Orbital metastasis of breast cancer
- Cystic lymphangioma of the orbital cavity
- Pleomorphic adenoma of lacrimal gland
- Schwannoma of the orbital cavity
- Basal cell carcinoma of the lateral canthus
- Basal cell carcinoma of the eyelid
- Nonspecific orbital inflammation
- Chondrosarcoma of the maxilla
- Adenoid cystic carcinoma of lacrimal gland
- Spheno-orbital and calvarium intraosseous meningioma
- Lateral orbital wall blow-in fracture and concomitant orbital floor and maxillary sinus wall fracture
- Innervation of the medial and lateral recti muscles (Gray's illustration)
- Orbital cavernous haemangioma
- Orbital pseudotumour
- Orbital foreign body: stiletto shoe
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