Diseases

Ocular Motility Disorders

Disorders that feature impairment of eye movements as a primary manifestation of disease. These conditions may be divided into infranuclear, nuclear, and supranuclear disorders. Diseases of the eye muscles or oculomotor cranial nerves (III, IV, and VI) are considered infranuclear. Nuclear disorders are caused by disease of the oculomotor, trochlear, or abducens nuclei in the BRAIN STEM. Supranuclear disorders are produced by dysfunction of higher order sensory and motor systems that control eye movements, including neural networks in the CEREBRAL CORTEX; BASAL GANGLIA; CEREBELLUM; and BRAIN STEM. Ocular torticollis refers to a head tilt that is caused by an ocular misalignment. Opsoclonus refers to rapid, conjugate oscillations of the eyes in multiple directions, which may occur as a parainfectious or paraneoplastic condition (e.g., OPSOCLONUS-MYOCLONUS SYNDROME). (Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p240)

National Library of MedicineMedical Subject Headings2026

Structured Summary

Abstract

Disorders that feature impairment of eye movements as a primary manifestation of disease. These conditions may be divided into infranuclear, nuclear, and supranuclear disorders. Diseases of the eye muscles or oculomotor cranial nerves (III, IV, and VI) are considered infranuclear. Nuclear disorders are caused by disease of the oculomotor, trochlear, or abducens nuclei in the BRAIN STEM. Supranuclear disorders are produced by dysfunction of higher order sensory and motor systems that control eye movements, including neural networks in the CEREBRAL CORTEX; BASAL GANGLIA; CEREBELLUM; and BRAIN STEM. Ocular torticollis refers to a head tilt that is caused by an ocular misalignment. Opsoclonus refers to rapid, conjugate oscillations of the eyes in multiple directions, which may occur as a parainfectious or paraneoplastic condition (e.g., OPSOCLONUS-MYOCLONUS SYNDROME). (Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p240)

MeSH Record

Classification

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MeSH Record

Synonyms

56 entry terms
  • Eye Motility Disorders
  • Eye Movement Disorders
  • Eye Motility Disorder
  • Eye Movement Disorder
  • Ocular Motility Disorder
  • Brown Syndrome
  • Brown Tendon Sheath Syndrome
  • Brown's Syndrome
  • Brown's Tendon Sheath Syndrome
  • Convergence Excess
  • Convergence Insufficiency
  • Cyclophoria
  • Deficiency, Smooth Pursuit
  • Internuclear Ophthalmoplegia
  • Ocular Torticollis
  • Opsoclonus
  • Parinaud Syndrome
  • Parinaud's Syndrome
  • Paroxysmal Ocular Dyskinesia
  • Pseudoophthalmoplegia
  • Skew Deviation
  • Smooth Pursuit Deficiency
  • Spasm of Conjugate Gaze
  • Syndrome, Brown's Tendon Sheath
  • Tendon Sheath Syndrome of Brown
  • Browns Syndrome
  • Conjugate Gaze Spasm
  • Conjugate Gaze Spasms
  • Convergence Excesses
  • Convergence Insufficiencies
  • Cyclophorias
  • Deficiencies, Smooth Pursuit
  • Deviation, Skew
  • Deviations, Skew
  • Dyskinesia, Paroxysmal Ocular
  • Dyskinesias, Paroxysmal Ocular
  • Excess, Convergence
  • Gaze Spasms, Conjugate
  • Insufficiencies, Convergence
  • Insufficiency, Convergence
  • Internuclear Ophthalmoplegias
  • Ocular Dyskinesia, Paroxysmal
  • Ocular Dyskinesias, Paroxysmal
  • Ophthalmoplegia, Internuclear
  • Ophthalmoplegias, Internuclear
  • Parinauds Syndrome
  • Paroxysmal Ocular Dyskinesias
  • Pseudoophthalmoplegias
  • Pursuit Deficiencies, Smooth
  • Pursuit Deficiency, Smooth
  • Skew Deviations
  • Smooth Pursuit Deficiencies
  • Syndrome, Brown
  • Syndrome, Brown's
  • Syndrome, Parinaud
  • Syndrome, Parinaud's

MeSH Record

Aspects Covered

35 allowable subheadings

Indexed with the subheadings blood, cerebrospinal fluid, chemically induced, classification, complications, congenital, diagnosis, diagnostic imaging, diet therapy, drug therapy, economics, embryology, enzymology, epidemiology, ethnology, etiology, genetics, history, immunology, metabolism, microbiology, mortality, nursing, parasitology, pathology, physiopathology, prevention & control, psychology, radiotherapy, rehabilitation, surgery, therapy, urine, veterinary, virology.

MeSH Record

History Note

1990

MeSH Record

Previous Indexing

  • Ophthalmoplegia (1966-1989)
  • specific eye disease (1966-1989)

MeSH Hierarchy

Tree Numbers

  1. C10w.228w.758
  2. C10w.292w.562
  3. C11w.590

MeSH Record

NLM Classification

WW 410

AMA Style

References

  1. National Library of Medicine. Ocular Motility Disorders. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). 2026. Unique ID D015835. http://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/2026/D015835
  2. Ocular Motility Disorders. In: Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11583708