In nearly all adult vertebrates, the vasculature is of key importance for supplying nutrients and oxygen to the brain. Throughout the nervous system, neurons and blood vessels align closely to form the neurovascular unit [1]. Little is known, however, about the causal role of the vasculature during the embryonic establishment of neuronal pathways and functional activity. In addition, little inf...

The extraocular muscles of dystrophic mouse strain Re-129 dy/dy were studied in combined phase and electron microscopy. Changes in fiber morphology were found which are similar to those described in dystrophic human and mouse peripheral musculature, i.e., changes in fiber diameter, alteratiotxs in the cellular organelles, including mitochondria, sarcoplasmic reticulum, nuclei, sarcolemma, and l...

Two patients with oculomotor neuropathy demonstrated passive ocular proptosis. In both instances, there was no evidence of a pathological process exerting a vector of force through the orbital opening. The proptosis is caused by a combination of the loss of the normal backward force exerted by the ocular recti muscles and the presence of a small anteriorly directed force exerted by the ocular o...

A 66-year-old female presented with exotropia and hypertropia of her left eye. She had a previous history of lateral rectus recession and medial rectus resection of her left eye 20 years prior to old oculomotor and trochlear nerve pareses. She was treated with a botulinum toxin injection in the inferior oblique and lateral rectus muscles of her affected eye. In this case, the patient’s exotropi...

Orbital tumors constitute a heterogeneous array of lesions and pose numerous challenges in terms of diagnosis, imaging and treatment.1,2 The bony orbit contains an extremely complicated anatomical architecture composed of II, III, IV, VI cranial nerves, vessels, extra ocular muscles and the globe. Schwannoma of cranial nerves represent less than 8% of all intracranial neoplasms usually arising ...

S ynergistic divergence is a well-established clinical condition in which abduction arises on attempted adduction, leading to simultaneous abduction of both eyes on lateral gaze. Synergistic divergence can occur as an extreme form of Duane syndrome, where most if not all oculomotor nerve branch fibers originally directed to the medial rectus muscle innervate the lateral rectus muscle. Synergist...

Recent anatomical studies of extraocular muscles (EOM) demonstrate the stability of muscle paths. This is due to the fact that each rectus EOM passes through a pulley consisting of an encircling ring or sleeve of collagen. In this paper, the EOMs are modeled using the Hill type musculotendon complex and the effect of extraocular pulleys are studied. The model proposed by Martin and Schovanec in...

Large, rapid gaze shifts necessitate intricate coordination of the eyes and head. Brief high-frequency bursts of activity within the intermediate and deeper layers of the superior colliculus (dSC) encode desired gaze shifts regardless of component movements of the eyes and head. However, it remains unclear whether low-frequency activity emitted by oculomotor neurons within the dSC and elsewhere...

Introduction There are no established doctrines for treating Bells facial nerve paralysis (Bell's palsy), as there are still controversies in relation to the etiology of the disease. According to available sources 75% of all patients experience minor damage to the myelin sheath, thus usually recovering spontaneously and with no particular treatment. However, the rest of the patients may, withou...

Oculomotor cistern is normal anatomic structure that is like an arachnoid-lined cerebrospinal fluid-filled sleeve, containing oculomotor nerve. We report a case of arachnoid cyst in oculomotor cistern, manifesting as oculomotor nerve palsy. The oblique sagittal MRI, parallel to the oculomotor nerve, showed well-defined and enlarged subarachnoid spaces along the course of oculomotor nerve. Simpl...