Lateral rectus
Head & throat
Deep muscle — it lies under other muscles. X-ray makes the muscles over it see-through.
- Origin
- Common tendinous ring at the back of the orbit
- Insertion
- Outer surface of the eyeball
- Action
- Turns the eye outward, away from the nose
- Nerve supply
- Abducens nerve (CN VI)
One of the six muscles that move each eye. It turns the eye toward the side, working with the medial rectus of the other eye when you look sideways.
Lateral rectus anatomy page →