Pathology

Disease

Diplopia

Surgery

Trochlear nerve

Progressive supranuclear palsy

Cavernous sinus

Alternative medicine

Abducens nerve

Palsy

Oculomotor nerve

Oculomotor nerve palsy

Ptosis

Medicine

Somatosensory & Motor Research

Oculomotor nerve palsy (ONP) is an important and common clinical diagnosis. Its main features are diplopia and ptosis. Its aetiologies are various and complex. A number of different conditions have been reported to cause ONP, such as diabetes mellitus, aneurysm, tumours, painful ophthalmoplegia, pituitary lesions, cavernous sinus lesions, central nervous system infections, and subarachnoid haemorrhage. A patients needs to undergo several tests in order to establish the correct underlying pathology. In this review, we have summarized the aetiologies of the unilateral ONP, and discussed their relative clinical features, pathogenesis, diagnostic criteria, treatment options, and prognosis. We searched PubMed for papers related to ONP and its aetiologies, and selected the publications, which seemed appropriate.

The aetiologies of the unilateral oculomotor nerve palsy: a review of the literature