corneal light reflex

Last reviewed 01/2018

Corneal light reflexes are not what a neurologist would recognise as a true reflex. Instead, they describe the corneal reflections of a light held in front of a patient.

In the normal patient these should be symmetrically displaced just to the nasal side of centre of the cornea with the same displacement in each eye.

If an eye deviates inwards, the light reflection is apparently more temporal than it ought to be.

An outward deviated eye will result in apparent inward displacement of the corneal light reflex.