A patient is having right lateral rectus palsy. His head will be deted: March 2012
**Core Concept**
To understand the patient's head position, we need to know the function of the right lateral rectus muscle and its role in eye movements. The right lateral rectus muscle is responsible for abduction of the right eye, which is the movement of the eye away from the midline of the body.
**Why the Correct Answer is Right**
In right lateral rectus palsy, the patient will have difficulty moving the right eye away from the midline. To compensate for this, the patient will turn their head to the right, so that the left eye can see the target on the right side. This is known as head turning or head detion. The brain uses the left eye to see the target, and the head detion helps to align the eyes with the target.
**Why Each Wrong Option is Incorrect**
**Option A:** This option is incorrect because the patient would not turn their head to the left in right lateral rectus palsy. The head would still need to be turned to the right to compensate for the weakness of the right lateral rectus muscle.
**Option B:** This option is incorrect because the patient would not have a head detion to the left in right lateral rectus palsy. The head detion would be to the right, not left.
**Clinical Pearl / High-Yield Fact**
In cases of lateral rectus palsy, the patient will have a head detion to the opposite side of the palsy. This is a classic clinical finding that can help diagnose the condition.
**Correct Answer: C. To the right.**