What term describes general abnormalities in fixation, saccades, and pursuits?

• A. Pupillary dysfunction
• B. Strabismus
• C. Oculomotor dysfunction
• D. Ocular misalignment

Answer: (C)

In this area of eye movement control, fixation, saccades, and pursuits are all managed by the oculomotor system. Abnormalities across these functions point to a broad disruption of how the brain generates and coordinates eye movements, not just a single type of movement. That makes oculomotor dysfunction the appropriate umbrella term: it covers issues with maintaining gaze (fixation), rapid gaze shifts (saccades), and smooth tracking (pursuits).

Pupillary dysfunction involves the autonomic control of pupil size, not movement of the eyes themselves. Strabismus or ocular misalignment describes the eyes not pointing in the same direction and is a specific alignment problem, rather than a general disturbance of fixation, saccades, and pursuits.