CLINICAL-NYSTAGMUS

SUMMARY

1. The movements may be pendular (like a pendulum) or jerk.

2. Jerk nystagmus has slow and fast components. The eyes "drift" (= slow component), and try to quickly recover (= fast component).

3. The fast direction defines the direction of the nystagmus.

4. Upbeating jerk nystagmus usually indicates a lesion in the pons, medulla or cerebellum.

5. Downbeating jerk nystagmus indicates a lesion at the cervicomedullary junction.

Reference(s)

Wilkinson, I., Furmedge, D. and Sinharay, R. (2017). Oxford handbook of clinical medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Get it on Amazon.
Feather, A., Randall, D. and Waterhouse, M. (2020). Kumar And Clark’s Clinical Medicine. 10th ed. S.L.: Elsevier Health Sciences. Get it on Amazon.
Hannaman, R. A., Bullock, L., Hatchell, C. A., & Yoffe, M. (2016). Internal medicine review core curriculum, 2017-2018. CO Springs, CO: MedStudy.
Therapeutic Guidelines. Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines Limited. https://www.tg.org.au [Accessed 2021].