Superior rectus(job: turning the eye to look up)It turns the eye to look up. The oculomotor nerve (III) moves it.
Inferior rectus(job: turning the eye to look down)It turns the eye to look down. The oculomotor nerve (III) moves it.
Lateral rectus(job: turning the eye away from the nose)It turns the eye away from the nose. It is the only eye muscle moved by the abducens nerve (VI).
Medial rectus(job: turning the eye toward the nose)It turns the eye toward the nose. The oculomotor nerve (III) moves it.
Oblique muscles 3
Superior oblique(job: turning the eye down and away from the nose)It turns the eye down and away from the nose. It is the only eye muscle moved by the trochlear nerve (IV).
Trochlea(job: turning the tendon of the superior oblique, like a pulley)A pulley-like loop of cartilage. Trochlea is Latin for pulley, and the trochlear nerve is named after it.
Inferior oblique(job: turning the eye up and away from the nose)It turns the eye up and away from the nose. The oculomotor nerve (III) moves it. It is the only one of the six that does not begin at the back of the orbit.
Eyelid, ring and nerve 3
Levator palpebrae superioris(job: raising the upper eyelid)It lifts the upper eyelid. It does not move the eyeball. The oculomotor nerve (III) moves it.
Common tendinous ring(job: anchoring the four rectus muscles at the back)A ring of tendon at the back of the orbit. It lies round the optic canal. Also called the annulus of Zinn.
Optic nerve(job: carrying sight from the eye to the brain)It leaves the back of the eyeball. It passes through the ring to the optic canal. It is cranial nerve II.
How this list was compiled: Every name, action and nerve checked on 2026-09-30 against OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e: section 14.1 Sensory Perception (the six extraocular muscles, the trochlea, the levator palpebrae superioris), https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/pages/14-1-sensory-perception; section 11.3, the table Muscles of the Eyes (movements, the common tendinous ring), https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/pages/11-3-axial-muscles-of-the-head-neck-and-back; section 13.4, the table of cranial nerves, https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/pages/13-4-the-peripheral-nervous-system. Second source: Wikipedia, text only: Extraocular muscles, Common tendinous ring, Trochlea of superior oblique, Levator palpebrae superioris muscle, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraocular_muscles. Third: TeachMeAnatomy, The Extraocular Muscles, https://teachmeanatomy.info/head/organs/eye/extraocular-muscles/. All wording is our own. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
This eye muscle quiz lights one part of the right orbit, seen from the side or from the front. Name it, then pick its job. Six muscles move the eyeball and a seventh lifts the upper eyelid.
Read the full guide
Two views of one orbit
The side view shows the muscles running back to the common tendinous ring at the tip of the orbit, round the optic nerve. The lateral rectus is cut there so the nerve shows. In the front view the nose is on the right: the medial rectus is the strap on that side.
Four straight, two slanting
Rectus means straight: each rectus muscle pulls the eye toward its own side. The obliques pull at a slant. The tendon of the superior oblique turns through the trochlea before it reaches the eye, so the muscle turns the eye down and outward.
Three nerves move the eye: the abducens (VI) the lateral rectus, the trochlear (IV) the superior oblique, the oculomotor (III) the other four.
The inferior oblique is the only one of the six that begins on the floor of the orbit, not at the back.
Questions and answers
What are the six muscles of the eye?
The superior, inferior, medial and lateral rectus and the superior and inferior oblique. They begin on the bones of the orbit, attach to the surface of the eyeball and turn it. A seventh muscle in the orbit, the levator palpebrae superioris, lifts the upper eyelid.
Which nerves control the eye muscles?
Three cranial nerves. The abducens nerve (VI) moves the lateral rectus and the trochlear nerve (IV) the superior oblique. The oculomotor nerve (III) moves the other four muscles of the eyeball and the levator palpebrae superioris.
What is the trochlea of the eye?
A small pulley-like loop of cartilage at the upper corner of the orbit on the side of the nose. The tendon of the superior oblique passes through it and turns back to reach the top of the eyeball.
What does the superior oblique muscle do?
It turns the eye down and away from the nose, and rotates it a little. Its tendon reaches the eye from the front, through the trochlea, which is why it pulls in a different direction from the rectus muscles.