58 The Pupils ROBERT H . SPECTOR Definition iris atrophy, the sphincter becomes rigid, hence the light reaction diminishes in extent . The normal pupil size in adults varies from 2 to 4 mm in diameter in bright light to 4 to 8 mm in the dark . The pupils are generally equal in size . They constrict to direct illumi- Basic Science nation (direct response) and to illumination of the opposite eye (consensual response) . The pupil dilates in the dark . The size of the pupil is controlled by the activities of two Both pupils constrict when the eye is focused on a near muscles : the circumferential sphincter muscle found in the object (accommodative response) . The pupil is abnormal if margin of the iris, innervated by the parasympathetic ner- it fails to dilate to the dark or fails to constrict to light or vous system ; and the iris dilator muscle, running radially accommodation . from the iris root to the peripheral border of the sphincter . The popular acronym PERRLA-pupils equal, round, The iris dilator fibers contain a-adrenergic sympathetic re- and reactive to light and accommodation-is a convenient ceptors that respond to changes in sympathetic tonus and but incomplete description of pupillomotor function . It spe- changes in the blood level of circulating catecholamines . cifically omits important clinical data such as the actual size The pupillary light reflex arc begins in the retina (Figure and shape of each pupil, the speed and extent of pupillary 58 .1) . Considerable evidence exists that the visual cells of constriction, and the results of determining an afferent pu- the retina, that is, the rods and cones, also serve as light pillary defect . receptors controlling pupillomotor activity . Fibers originat- ing from the nasal neuroreceptor cells decussate in the optic chiasm to the opposite optic tract, whereas the temporal Technique fibers continue in the homolateral optic tract . "Pupillary fibers" from both eyes within the optic tract pass via the The examiner first must check the size, shape, equality, and superior quadrigeminal brachium and the superior colli- position of the pupils, and their response to a bright light . culus to the mesencephalic pretectum and pretectal nuclei . Because these phenomena are best tested with the pupils Axons from each pretectal nucleus pass ipsilaterally and in a semidilated state, clinical observations should be made contralaterally to the ipsilateral and contralateral Edinger- in a dimly lighted room . Patients should be encouraged to Westphal (E-W) nucleus, a subnucleus of the oculomotor fixate visually on a distant object, because if they inadver- nuclear complex . The hemidecussation of the pupillary fi- tently look at your nose or the flashlight, the attempt to bers at the optic chiasm and between the pretectal nuclei converge will reflexly evoke miosis, and certain signs may ensures that each E-W nucleus receives information about be overlooked (e.g ., anisocoria, light-near dissociation, or a the level of incoming light from each eye . Hence, the pupils subtle Marcus Gunn sign . For the same reasons, try not to should be equal in diameter regardless of the level of vision startle or touch patients with your hands or instruments, as of either eye . For example, in a patient with one blind eye, psychosensory stimulation induces mydriasis, hippus, and the pretectal nuclei would register and transmit to each E- relatively hyperactive pupils . W nucleus only one-half the normal level of illumination . To assess pupillary size in a darkened room, illuminate The transmission of less pupilloconstrictor tone to each iris the face from below . Slowly move the light up to the patient's sphincter would result in slightly larger pupils but of equal eye level and check the pupillary response to the bright diameter . Accordingly, anisocoria (unequal pupillary di- light on each side several times . Grade these responses from ameter) is not attributable to the angle at which light strikes 1+ to 4+ . Next, look at the amount of pupillary constric- the face, unilateral cataracts, or an asymmetric refractive tion that occurs when the patient is forced to focus on a error, unless there is local disease of the anterior segment . near object, such as a thumb held 15 to 20 cm above the Parasympathetic axons from the E-W nucleus join the eyes . Record these data so that they are easy to read and outflow of the other oculomotor subnuclei to form the trunk recall . Below is an example of one method : of the oculomotor nerve . Pupillomotor fibers assume a su- perficial location in the nerve as it exits the mesencephalon R L in the interpeduncular space . In the orbit, the parasympathetic components synapse Size 5 .0 mm 5 .9 mm in the ciliary ganglion . Postganglionic fibers traveling in the Shape Oval Round short ciliary nerves innervate both the ciliary body, inducing Light +3 +3 lens accommodation, and the pupilloconstrictor muscles of Near +3 +3 the iris . The ratio of fibers innervating the ciliary body to Normally, the convergence reaction is as brisk and as those supplying the pupil is approximately 30 :1 . Acetyl- extensive as the light reaction . The extent of constriction choline serves as the neurotransmitter for both functions . depends also on the condition of the iris . A brown iris con- The pupillary near reflex consists of three separate, syn- tracts less than a blue iris . In old people and in patients with ergistic phenomena : accommodation, convergence, and 300 58 . THE PUPILS 301 miosis . The examiner then shines a bright light in one of the patient's eyes, observes the speed and extent of the contraction, and then quickly moves the light to the other pupil and makes the same observations . The difference in pupillary reactions to light may be enhanced by swinging a flashlight back and forth from one eye to the other . The light should remain 3 to 5 seconds on each eye until the pupil has stabilized . Do not leave the light on one eye longer than the other, since this will create or exaggerate a relative afferent defect in the eye with the longer light exposure . As the light falls on each eye, look carefully at pupillary movement . Normally, there is an initial constriction, fol- lowed several seconds later by slow redilatation . In a patient with a profoundly positive MG sign, the initial pupillary movement is dilatation rather than constriction . With small afferent pupillary defects, there is a relatively brief con- striction before the pupil "escapes ." Asymmetric pupillary escape differentiates a subtle MG sign . While a positive MG sign most commonly signals the presence of an ipsilateral optic nerve lesion, it may also occur with homonymous visual loss related to an optic tract lesion . Partial optic tract lesions cause asymmetric or incon- gruous homonymous hemianopia . The MG sign is seen in the eye with the greater amount of field loss . Since only one working iris sphincter is required for the MG test, the search for it can be performed in the presence of an ipsilateral corneal opacity, third nerve palsy, or atrop i.nTzhedpxuamlrobsveth aiorfnly Figure 58.1 the intact pupil as each eye is alternately illuminated . As Neuroanatomy of the light reflex . before, the afferent pupillary defect is on the side that, when stimulated, results in dilatation of the observed pupil . pupillary constriction . The near reflex, in general, is a fun- damental component of stereoscopic vision . Using the ma- Oculomotor Paralysis and Recovery caque monkey, Jampel (1967) showed that all three components of the near reflex can be elicited by electrical Acute ophthalmoplegia of the third nerve including in- stimulation of the occipital association cortex . In fact, by volvement of the pupil occurs most commonly after severe slight variations in the position of the stimulating electrode head trauma or as a result of rupture or sudden expansion or by changing the stimulus intensity, the various compo- of a posterior communicating artery . In diabetic, hyperten- nents could be obtained in partial combinations or, on oc- sive, or other ischemic-type oculomotor lesions, the pupil is casion, alone . The exact anatomic pathways connecting rarely involved . There may be severe pain as well as ptosis cerebral cortex to midbrain are unresolved . There is evi- and ophthalmoplegia, but the pupil in these cases is normal dence, however, derived mainly from clinical observations, in size and shows normal or near-normal reactivity . Pain, that the fibers mediating pupillary constriction in the near regardless of its severity, does not distinguish a "medical" reflex follow a more ventral course than those subserving third nerve palsy from one caused by a cerebral aneurysm . the light reflex at the mesencephalic level . The pupillary response to light remains the most reliable way of differentiating between these two acute conditions . The term pupillary sparing requires careful definition. It Clinical Significance should be limited to the clinical situation where there is complete ptosis and paralysis of ocular elevation, depres- The afferent pupillary defect, or Marcus Gunn (MG) sign, sion, and adduction, but normal pupillary size and move- is virtually diagnostic of a lesion, at times asymptomatic, in ment. Pupillary reactivity with partial ptosis and/or partial the prechiasmal portion of the ipsilateral optic nerve . It ophthalmoparesis does not constitute true pupillary spar- rarely occurs in visual loss resulting from impairment of ing . These patients have partial involvement of the third the cornea, lens, vitreous, or retina. Its absence in a patient nerve, including the pupillomotor fibers, and frequently with unilateral visual loss should redirect the examiner's harbor a space-occupying lesion in the parasellar fossa . Pa- attention to nonneurogenic etiologies such as a refractive tients with third nerve paralysis and true pupillary sparing error, suppression amblyopia, macular disease, or func- can be followed clinically . If the pupil retains normal size tional visual loss . and reactivity after 1 week of observation, they need not When evaluating for an MG sign, be certain to check the undergo CT or cerebral angiography in search of a cerebral patient in a relatively dark room and with a bright hand- aneurysm . Almost assuredly, they will spontaneously im- light . Too dim a light source produces insignificant pupil- prove within 3 months . If not, further analysis is indicated . lary movements ; too bright a light source causes afterimages Tumorous or aneurysmal compression of the third nerve that keep the pupil small for several seconds, obscuring variably affects pupil size, depending on the location of the pupillary escape in the other eye . The patient must be con- lesion . A large posterior communicating artery aneurysm, tinually urged to fixate afar to avoid convergence-induced for instance, distorts the subarachnoid portion of the third 30 2 IV. THE NEUROLOGIC SYSTEM nerve and almost always produces mydriasis . In lesions of notes pupillary light-near dissociation, vermiform contrac- the cavernous sinus, however, the pupillary reaction to a tions of the pupil, and pharmacologic evidence of dener- light and near stimulus may be fully preserved in the an- vation supersensitivity. A dilute parasympathomimetic agent terior cavernous sinus . The oculomotor nerve separates into such as 0 .125% pilocarpine is used for this purpose . It pro- a superior and an inferior division . Relative pupillary spar- duces marked constriction of an Adie's pupil, but has no ing may in part reflect sparing of the inferior division, which effect on the diameter of a normal pupil . Demonstrating also innervates the medial and inferior rectus and inferior denervation supersensitivity by this method differentiates oblique muscles . It may also be explained by the fact that an acute Adie's pupil from the large, immobile pupil ob- the pupillomotor fibers, in the process of joining the twig served in early third nerve lesions and from a pharmaco- to the inferior oblique muscle, may either assume an in- logically dilated pupil . dependent course or descend from the vulnerable super- Although ATP is most commonly a unilateral disorder ficial position in the subarachnoid portion of the nerve to it can be bilateral, developing in both eyes either simulta- a presumably more protected position, either within the neously •o r consecutively . Symmetric bilateral ATPs have substance of the nerve or on its lateral or inferior aspects . been observed with widespread peripheral neuropathies such Aberrant regeneration of the third nerve occurs after as in diabetes or the Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome . They axonal destruction . It is characterized clinically by synkinetic are frequently found in association with other signs of auto- eye muscle activity. For instance, there may be elevation of nomic dysfunction-orthostatic hypotension, progressive the involved lid on adduction, lowering of the lid during segmental anhidrosis, and as a constituent of the Shy-Drager abduction, or elevation of the lid on depression of the eye . and Riley-Day syndromes . The pupil in these cases is usually larger than its mate and also shows synkinetic activity . It may not react to a bright light, but portions of the iris sphincter will contract during Sylvian Aqueduct Syndrome adduction, depression, or elevation of the globe, indicating that the pupillosphincter contracts simultaneous with the With rostral midbrain lesions in the area of the pretectal medial or with the inferior or superior rectus muscles, nuclear complex, interruption of the retinotectal fibers with respectively . preservation of the supranuclear accommodative fibers pro- duces bilateral pupillary light-near dissociation . The asso- ciated damage to the pretectal pupilloconstrictor nuclei results in pupils that are 4 to 6 mm in diameter ; they do Adie's Tonic Pupil Syndrome not react to light but constrict during the attempt to con- Adie's tonic pupil (ATP), the most common cause of isolated verge ; and these findings occur with other signs, such as internal ophthalmoplegia, results from postganglionic para- supranuclear paralysis of upgaze, lid retraction, and con- sympathetic denervation of the internal ocular muscles (the vergence-retraction nystagmus . ciliary muscle and iris sphincter) . The neuropathologic find- ings comprise nonspecific necrosis and neuronal loss in the short ciliary nerves and/or ciliary ganglion . Pharmacologically Dilated Pupil The patient with ATP may be totally asymptomatic, and is often brought to a physician's office by a friend or relative As an isolated finding, an extremely large pupil, obliterating who notices that he or she has one large pupil . Of the 122 the iris and unresponsive to a light or near stimulus, is patients with ATP studied retrospectively by Thompson almost always due to inadvertent or factitious application (1977),80% had symptoms, which included anisocoria, pho- of a parasympathomimetic agent (eye drops, scopolamine, tophobia, and difficulty with dark adaptation . Ciliary muscle- jimsonweed, marijuana, LSD) . Medical personnel, includ- related symptoms, present in 35% of affected individuals, ing nurses, doctors, and pharmacists, are especially liable included blurred vision, pseudomyopia, and brow-ache with to accidental instillation of mydriatic agents . near work. Instillation of 1% pilocarpine helps differentiate phar- If the ocular examination is performed at the onset of macologic mydriasis from other causes of a large, unreactive symptoms, the patient manifests a large, immobile pupil . pupil . With parasympathetic denervation of the pupil from Neurologically, diminished or absent deep tendon reflexes oculomotor palsy or an ATP, the response is prompt miosis . in the lower extremities are found in one-third to half of Failure to note any change on the side of the mydriatic patients (Holmes-Adie syndrome) . With time, aberrant pupil is strong clinical evidence of pharmacologic dilatation, reinnervation of the pupil and ciliary body occurs . Because provided the pupillosphincter muscle is anatomically intact . the overwhelming number of postganglionic parasympa- thetic fibers from the ciliary ganglion control accommo- dation, the iris sphincter becomes reinnervated almost Argyll Robertson Pupil exclusively by accommodative elements, and the near reflex consequently becomes extensive-in fact it is prolonged . "Spinal miosis" has been known for some time when Doug- Such a "tonic" near response is best appreciated when the las Argyll Robertson (1869) described his five patients, all patient changes fixation from a near to a far stimulus . The of whom had very small pupils . It was found later that normal pupil readily redilates, while the Adie's pupil re- bilateral pupillary light-near dissociation occurred in pa- dilates at a much slower rate . tients who did not have central nervous system syphilis . Aberrant regeneration of the parasympathetic nerve Some had tumors in the midbrain (sylvian aqueduct syn- supply to the intraocular muscles also causes sector palsies drome), others developed internal ophthalmoplegia from of the pupillary sphincter and ciliary muscle . Asynchronous unknown cause (?ATP), and some patients with diabetes contractions of these muscles cause the following signs : in- mellitus developed abnormal pupils along with their diffuse duced astigmatism, tonicity of accommodation, and cholin- peripheral neuropathy . It is now generally accepted that ergic supersensitivity of the ciliary muscle . The examiner true Argyll Robertson pupils related to syphilis are small in 58 . THE PUPILS 303 diameter, irregular in shape, slightly unequal, and fail to vation of the facial sweat glands and vasoconstrictor fibers . dilate in darkness or with traditional mydriatic agents . The If the lesion is located distal to the superior cervical gan- Argyll Robertson sign must include relatively intact visual glion, the postganglionic sudomotor and vasomotor fibers function to exclude nonsyphilitic causes of pupillary light- to the face are likely to be preserved . In this case, facial near dissociation . sweating is normal . Two pharmacologic tests may be applied to patients with Horner's syndrome . Cocaine 5 to 10% prevents the pre- synaptic reuptake of norepinephrine at the sympathetic Homer's Syndrome neuromuscular junction in the pupillodilator muscle . It will The iris pupillodilator fibers are innervated by the sym- dilate a pupil when the entire sympathetic pathway is intact, pathetic nervous system (Figure 58 .2) . The first-order neu- that is, when norepinephrine is being tonically released . ron of this pathway resides in the posterolateral Sympathetic damage reduces the availability of norepi- hypothalamus . Exiting axons descend uncrossed through nephrine at the myoneural junction, so a Horner's pupil the brainstem tegmentum to synapse in the intermedio- may dilate but not to the same extent as a normal pupil . lateral cell column of the spinal cord at the C8-T2 level . Paredrine, a 1 % solution of hydroxyamphetamine, stim- Second-order preganglionic fibers travel along the C8, T1, ulates norepinephrine release at the myoneural junction, and T2 motor nerve roots to join and ascend in the sym- inducing pupillary dilation . The third-order neurons pathetic chain over the pulmonary apex to the superior produce, transport, and store norepinephrine . When the cervical ganglion . The third-order neuron supplies sudom- third-order neurons (the superior cervical ganglion or post- otor axons, which are distributed to the face along branches ganglionic fibers) are damaged, paredrine produces little of the external carotid artery and to the orbits by the or no pupillary dilation in the affected eye . However, with ophthalmic artery and ophthalmic division of the trigeminal lesions of the sympathetic pathway that are proximal to the nerve . The distal portions of the third-order neuron release superior cervical ganglion, the pupil dilates in response to norepinephrine, effecting pupillary dilation . For a more paredrine because adequate amounts of norepinephrine are detailed discussion regarding the intracranial sympathetic available for release . Thus, the cocaine test helps differen- pathways, the reader should consult Vijayan's article (1978) tiate a Horner's syndrome from other causes of anisocoria, on pericarotid syndrome . and the paredrine test can distinguish a third-order neuron The classic signs of a Horner's syndrome include ptosis Horner's syndrome from first- and second-neuron of the upper lid, slight elevation of the lower lid (upside- syndromes . down ptosis), miosis, and ipsilateral anhidrosis . The illusory In addition to the pharmacologic tests, the topical di- enophthalmos resulting from a narrow palpebral aperture agnosis of Horner's syndrome depends on accompanying is not measurable . signs and symptoms . Pain in the homolateral supraclavic- Occasionally, the signs are minimal . The miosis especially ular fossa and weakness and wasting of the intrinsic hand need not be marked ; usually the pupillary diameter is re- muscles, for example, suggest an apical lung tumor . Nys- duced by only .5 to 1 mm. Lesions of the sympathetic path- tagmus, numbness of the ipsilateral face and contralateral way proximal to the external carotid artery make the extremities and trunk, dysarthria, and dysphagia point to ipsilateral face dry, warm, and hyperemic due to dener- involvement of the posterolateral medulla . Ipsilateral iris Figure 58.2 Pupillary sympathetic pathway . 304 IV . THE NEUROLOGIC SYSTEM heterochromia is a good sign of congenital Horner's syn- Jampel RS, Mindel J. The nucleus for accommodation in the mid- drome . Horner's pupil plus ipsilateral palsy of cranial nerves brain of the Macaque. Invest Ophthalmol 1967 ;6 :40-50 . IX, X, XI, and XII may be caused by a glomus jugulare Kerr FWL, Hollowell OW . Location of pupillomotor and accom- tumor arising near the carotid bifurcation . Hemifacial pain, modation fibers in the oculomotor nerve : experimental obser- along with pharmacologic evidence of a third-order neuron vations on paralytic mydriasis . J Neurol Neurosurg Psych lesion, may be the salient manifestation of an occlusion or 1964 ;27 :473-81 . dissection of the ipsilateral internal carotid artery . Kissel JT, Burde RM, Klingele TG, et al. Pupil-sparing oculomotor palsies with internal carotid-posterior communicating artery aneurysms . Ann Neurol 1983 ; 13 :149-54 . Korczyn AD, Rubenstein AE, Yahr MD, Axelrod FB . The pupil in Essential Anisocoria familial dysautonomia . Neurology 1981 ;31 :628-29 . Kori SH, Foley KM, Posner JB . Brachial plexus lesions in patients About 20% of the healthy population have essential ("func- with cancer : 100 cases . Neurology 1981 ;31 :45-50 . tional," "congenital") anisocoria . Yet it may be "suddenly Levatin P . Pupillary escape in disease of the retina or optic nerve . discovered" by a relative or friend, by an eye doctor, or even Arch Ophthalmol 1959 ;62 :768-99 . by a patient while shaving or applying makeup . In essential Loewenfeld IE . The Argyll Robertson pupil, 1869-1969, a critical anisocoria, the difference between the pupil diameter re- survey of the literature . Surv Ophthalmol 1969 ;14 :199-299 . mains the same regardless of ambient illumination . With Loewenfeld IE, Thompson HS . The tonic pupil : a re-evaluation . sympathetic denervation, as in Horner's syndrome, the pupil Am j Ophthalmol 1967 ;63 :46-87 . will not dilate as quickly or as extensively as a normal pupil Loewenfeld IE, Thompson HS . Mechanism of tonic pupil . Ann in darkness, so the difference in pupillary size observed in Neurol 1981 ;10 :275-76 . ambient light will be accentuated in subdued illumination . Lowenstein 0, Loewenfeld IE . Pupillotonic pseudotabes . Surv In parasympathetic defects, conversely, the anisocoria in- Ophthalmol 1965 ;10 :129-85 . creases in bright light . Mikolich JR, Paulson GW, Cross CJ . Acute anticholinergic syn- The examiner should assiduously determine the dura- drome due to Jimson seed ingestion . Ann Intern Med tion of anisocoria . Inspecting a series of old photographs 1975 ;83 :321-25 . can frequently prove that the anisocoria is not as "newly Miller SD, Thompson HS . Pupil cycle time in optic neuritis . Am J Ophthalmol 1978 ;85 :635-42 . acquired" as thought . Obviously, acquired anisocoria of re- Nadeau SE, Trobe JD . Pupil sparing in oculomotor palsy : a brief cent onset has more ominous implications than anisocoria review . Ann Neurol 1983 ;13 :143-48 . that dates back many years or even a lifetime . Riley FC, Moyer NJ . Oculosympathetic paresis associated with clus- ter headaches. Am J Ophthalmol 197 1 ;72 :763-68 . Robertson AD . Four cases of spinal miosis ; with remarks on the References action of light on the pupil . Edinburg Med j 1869 ;15 :487 . Spector RH, Faria MA . Aberrant regeneration of the inferior di- Bender MB, Fulton JF . Functional recovery in ocular muscles of a vision of the oculomotor nerve. Arch Neurol 1981 ;38 :460-61 . chimpanzee after section of oculomotor nerve . J Neurophysiol Thompson HS . Adie's syndrome : some new observations. Trans 1938 ;1 :144-51 . Am Ophthal Soc 1977 ;125 :587-626 . Cox TA, Thompson HS, Corbett JJ . Relative afferent pupillary Thompson HS, Mensher JH . Adrenergic mydriasis in Horner's defects in optic neuritis . Am J Ophthalmol 1981 ;92 :685-90 . syndrome . Am J Ophthalmol 1971 ;72 :472-80 . Czarnecki JSC, Thompson HS . The iris sphincter in aberrant re- Thompson HS, Newsome DA, Loewenfeld IE . The fixed dilated generation of the third nerve . Arch Ophthalmol 1978 ;96 :1606- pupil . Arch Ophthalmol 1971 ;86 :21-27 . 10 . Thompson HS, Zackon DH, Czarnecki, JSC . Tadpole-shaped pu- Giles CL, Henderson JW . Horner's syndrome : an analysis of 216 pils caused by segmental spasm of the iris dilator muscle . Am cases . Am J Ophthalmol 1958 ;46 :289-96 . J Ophthalmol 1983 ;96 :467-77 . Goldberg MF, Payne JW, Brunt PW . Ophthalmologic studies of Trobe JD, Glaser JS, Post JD . Meningiomas and aneurysms of the familial dysautonomia : the Riley-Day syndrome . Arch Ophthal- cavernous sinus. Neuro-ophthalmologic features . Arch mol 1968 ;80 :732-43 . Ophthalmol 1978 ;96 :457-67 . Harriman DGF, Garland H . The pathology of Adie's syndrome . Vijayan N, Watson C . Pericarotid syndrome . Headache 1978 ; Brain 1968 ;91 :401-18 . 18 :244-54 . Hughes JM, Blumenthal JR, Merson MH, et al . Clinical features Wirtschafter JD, Volk CR, Sawchuck RJ . Transaqueous diffusion of types A and B food-born botulism . Ann Intern Med 1981 ; of acetylcholine to denervated iris sphincter muscle : a mecha- 95 :442-45 . nism for the tonic syndrome (Adie's syndrome) . Ann Neurol Jampel RS . Representation of the near-response on the cerebral 1978 ;4:1-5 . cortex of the Macaque . Am J Ophthalmol 1959 ;48 :573-82 .