nose), allowing the eyeball to move horizontally in the lateral direction, bringing the pupil away from the midline of the body.

Damage to the abducens nerve by trauma can be caused by any type of trauma that causes elevated intracranial pressure; including hydrocephalus, traumatic brain injury with intracranial bleeding, tumors, and lesions along the nerve at any point between the pons and lateral rectus muscle in orbit.

The lateral rectus muscle will be denervated and paralyzed and the patient will be unable to abduct the eye.

Depending on the underlying cause of the lateral rectus palsy, some improvement may occur naturally over time.

This syndrome occurs when the sixth cranial nerve which controls the lateral rectus muscle does not develop properly.

It is believed that Duane Syndrome is a result of a disturbance of normal embryonic development due to a genetic or an environmental factor.