THE OCULOMOTOR PERIPHERY - THE CLINICIAN FOCUS IS NO LONGER A BASIC SCIENCE STEPCHILD

The study of the oculomotor periphery, the extraocular muscles and the ir orbital attachments, is undergoing a rapid expansion. This is an im portant progression for both basic and clinical communities as, for to o long, the ophthalmologist has worked primarily in the periphery and the basic researcher has been occupied with study of the central compo nents of the oculomotor system. From recent studies, it is clear that the morphology, cell and molecular biology, and genetics of the eye mu scles and their corresponding motoneuron pools, and muscle attachments within the orbit are more complex than has heretofore been appreciate d.