Your patient is a 22-year-old female assault victim. She has blunt trauma to the face with swelling around the right eye and zygomatic area. Upon assessing her eye movement, you note that the right eye cannot follow your finger and does not move. Which of the following MOST likely explains this finding?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The most likely explanation for the patient's inability to move her right eye is that she has a fracture of the orbit that has trapped the extrinsic eye muscles. This is a common complication of facial trauma and can lead to paralysis or restriction of eye movements. Damage to the optic nerve (answer A) or intrinsic eye muscles (answer B) would not typically result in this specific finding. Direct trauma to the eyeball (answer D) may cause damage to the optic nerve or intrinsic eye muscles, but this is less likely than a fracture of the orbit causing extrinsic muscle entrapment.

Your Patient Is a 22-Year-Old Female Assault Victim