GC: n
S: SDir (last access: 12 january 2026); HLN (last access: 12 january 2026).
1. ophthalmoplegia is formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: «ophthalmo-« comb. form, «‑plegia» comb. form.
- The earliest known use of the noun ophthalmoplegia is in the 1830s.
- OED’s earliest evidence for ophthalmoplegia is from 1835, in a dictionary by Richard Dennis Hoblyn, educational writer.
2. ophthalmoplegia, paralysis of the extraocular muscles that control the movements of the eye. Ophthalmoplegia usually involves the third (oculomotor), fourth (trochlear), or sixth (abducens) cranial nerves. Double vision is the characteristic symptom in all three cases. In oculomotor paralysis the muscles controlling the eye are affected in such a way that the eye drifts outward and slightly downward and has difficulty turning inward and upward. In addition, the upper eyelid of the affected eye usually droops, a condition called ptosis, and the pupil may be enlarged. If the pupil is abnormally large, the possibility of a cerebral aneurysm arises. This can be associated with pain. Trochlear paralysis, involving another muscle, the superior oblique, causes a vertical deviation of the affected eye. Abducens nerve paralysis affects still another ocular muscle, the lateral rectus, such that the affected eye turns inward toward the nose and cannot fully turn outward.
3. The Eye: ophthalmoplegia
- Paralysis of the eye muscles.
4. Ophthalmoplegia can be caused by multiple etiologies. There are restrictive, paretic, neurologic, and myasthenic conditions that can lead to reduced mobility of the eyes that at first glance may be difficult to discern from one another. While the examiner may be tempted to order various lab tests and scans to reach a diagnosis, the assessment of ophthalmoplegia by clinical examination alone can often provide enough information to determine the etiology, or at least rule out causes that can spare the patient and facility from unnecessary time-consuming and costly tests.
S: 1. OED (last access: 12 january 2026). 2. EncBrit (last access: 12 january 2026). 3. TERMIUM PLUS (last access: 12 january 2026). 4. NCBI (last access: 12 january 2026).
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CR: amaurosis, amblyopia, blindness. diplopia, ophthalmology, strabismus.