doll's eye phenomenon

doll's eye phenomenon (reflex)

 [dolz i]

the movement of the eyes as a unit in the opposite direction when the head is moved; it occurs in an individual with a depressed level of consciousness when cranial nerves three and six are intact. Called also oculocephalic reflex.

Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.

A clinical sign for evaluating brainstem function in a comatose patient; in a normal person, as the head is turned rapidly to one side—contraindicated if there is a possibility of brainstem injury—the eyes conjugately deviate in the direction opposite to the head’s movement; loss of this reflex implies dysfunction of brainstem or oculomotor nerves; inferolateral deviation of the eyes in combination with pupillary dilation implies dysfunction of the third cranial nerve, possibly due to tentorial herniation

Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.