2020–2021 BCSC Basic and Clinical Science Course™
6 Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
Part I: Strabismus
Chapter 4: Motor Physiology
Basic Principles and Terms
Positions of Gaze
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Primary position is the position of the eyes when they are fixating straight ahead.
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Secondary diagnostic positions are straight up, straight down, right gaze, and left gaze.
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Tertiary diagnostic positions are the 4 oblique positions of gaze: up and right, up and left, down and right, down and left, as well as the right and left head-tilt positions.
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Cardinal positions, which correspond to the primary fields of action of the extraocular muscles (EOMs) (see the section “Field of action”), are up and right, up and left, right, left, down and right, down and left (Fig 4-1).
See Chapter 7 for additional discussion of the positions of gaze.
Excerpted from BCSC 2020-2021 series: Section 10 - Glaucoma. For more information and to purchase the entire series, please visit https://www.aao.org/bcsc.