Sixth nerve palsy, or abducens nerve palsy, is a disorder associated with dysfunction of cranial nerve VI (the abducens nerve), which is responsible for contracting the lateral rectus muscle to abduct (i.e., turn out) the eye. The inability of an eye to turn outward results in a convergent strabismus or esotropia of which the primary symptom is double vision or diplopia in which the two images appear side-by-side. The condition is commonly unilateral but can also occur bilaterally.
The unilateral abducens nerve palsy is the most common of the isolated ocular motor nerve palsies.
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