Hippus

With Hippus ( hippos Greek .: "horse" - Synonym: jumping pupil ) is in the ophthalmology a rare, sometimes pronounced restlessness of the pupil referred to, which is expressed in a rhythmic widening or narrowing. This can be both physiological and pathological. The causes are not yet known.

In principle, the narrowing or enlargement of both eyes occurs at the same time, very suddenly and clearly, regardless of light conditions or normal pupillary reactions such as convergence miosis . They can be associated with various clinical pictures, such as multiple sclerosis , meningitis , myasthenia gravis or epileptic seizures .

The jumping pupil is differentiated from a hippus, the symptoms of which are very similar to those of a hippus, but the significant sign is a rapid change in the pupil difference between the right and left eye and often a slight mydriasis . Sometimes the phenomenon is only one-sided. In these cases, the predominant cause is assumed to be a brief convulsive state of the sphincter pupillae muscle as an expression of congenital paralysis of the oculomotor nerve ( oculomotor paresis ), which occurs periodically and even during sleep.

literature

• Farhad Hafezi, Eugen Boltshauser, Klara Landau : Pronounced physiological pupillary hippus. In: Clinical monthly sheets for ophthalmology. Vol. 216, No. 2, 2000, ISSN  0023-2165 , pp. 118-119, doi : 10.1055 / s-2000-10530 .
• Rudolf Sachsenweger (Ed.): Neuroophthalmology. 3rd, revised edition. Thieme, Stuttgart et al. 1982, ISBN 3-13-531003-5 , p. 307.

This article is about a health issue. It is not used for self-diagnosis and does not replace a diagnosis by a doctor. Please note the information on health issues !