Eye Muscles

There are six extraocular muscles that control the movement of the eye. These muscles are named the superior rectus, inferior rectus, lateral rectus, medial rectus, superior oblique, and inferior oblique. The muscles of the eye are designed to stabilize and move the eyes. All eye muscles have a resting muscle tone that is designed to stabilize eye position. During movements, certain muscles increase their activity while others decrease it. The movements of the eye include: adduction (the pupil directing toward the nose); abduction (the pupil directed laterally); elevation (the pupil directed up); depression (the pupil directed down); intorsion (the top of the eye moving toward the nose); and extorsion (the superior aspect of the eye moving away from the nose).(1)

Image of Eye Muscles

Eye Muscles


(1) https://www.dartmouth.edu/~dons/part_1/chapter_4.html

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