Sa. Renowden et al., ISOLATED ATRAUMATIC 3RD NERVE PALSY - CLINICAL-FEATURES AND IMAGING TECHNIQUES, British journal of radiology, 66(792), 1993, pp. 1111-1117
We have reviewed 34 consecutive patients imaged for an isolated third
nerve palsy over a 2-year period. With pupil sparing the third nerve p
alsy was most often due to ischaemic microvascular disease. The common
est cause of a third nerve palsy with pupillary involvement was a post
erior communicating artery aneurysm. Clinical features such as speed o
f onset, pain and completeness of palsy were not reliable in the diagn
osis of either the nature or the location of the cause. Pupillary invo
lvement was however often associated with a compressive lesion. Imagin
g along the whole course of the nerve is recommended for adequate eval
uation.