Ophthalmoplegia - a paralysis of muscles of an eye owing to a lesion of third cranial nerves.

Etiology, pathogenesis. Aneurysms of vessels of an arterial circle of the big brain, basal tumours of a brain, ischemic neuropathies of third cranial nerves, a lesion of a brainstem (insults, tumours, encephalitises, an alcoholic encephalopathy), a multiple sclerosis, a botulism, a septic clottage and another lesions of a cavernous sinus, meningitises. In all these cases the ophthalmoplegia has neurogenic character. As the reasons of a direct injury of muscles of an eye the myasthenia, an endocrine ophthalmopathy more often serve, to a tumour of an orbit, an ocular myopathy.

Signs. Restriction of mobility of an eyeglobe, doubling, quite often ptosis. At involving vegetative fibers - a mydriasis, disturbance of pupillary tests. For aneurysms of vessels the combination of an ophthalmoplegia to a lesion of the first branch of a trigeminal nerve (a pain in an eye and in frontal area) is characteristic. The syndrome of a cavernous sinus develops of a full or partial external and internal ophthalmoplegia and a lesion of 1 and 2 branches of a trigeminal nerve (a pain in an eye, frontal area, a cheek and the top jaw). This symptom-complex is often caused by a tumour located near to a turkish saddle. At a clottage of a cavernous sine of an ophthalmoplegia the exophthalmos, a headache, puffiness of a conjunctiva, falling of vision accompany; in case the clottage has septic character, signs of the general infectious character join. At a carotid cavernous fistula the ophthalmoplegia is combined with a pulsing exophthalmos, a hyperemia of a conjunctiva and vascular hum at auscultation of an eye and the same half of head.