extraoccular movements

The extraocular muscles are the six muscles that control movement of the eye (there are four in bovines[citation needed]) and one muscle that controls eyelid elevation (levator palpebrae). The actions of the six muscles responsible for eye movement depend on the position of the eye at the time of muscle contraction.

Four of the extraocular muscles control the movement of the eye in the four cardinal directions: up, down, left and right. The remaining two muscles control the adjustments involved in counteracting head movement; for instance this can be observed by looking into one's own eyes in a mirror while moving one's head.