Rare diseases · Sign or symptom
External ophthalmoplegia
Paralysis or weakness of muscles within or surrounding outer part of eye
HP:0000544
What it means
Paralysis of the external ocular muscles.
Rare diseases that can present with this13
Very common80–99%
5Common30–79%
4The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.
Part of the broader category
Also called: Chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia · CPEO · Ophthalmoplegia externa · Progressive paralysis or weakness of muscles of eye motility · Progressive paralysis or weakness of muscles of eye movement
Tracking symptoms like this for someone? Eleplan keeps symptoms, diagnoses, medications and every specialist in one plan.
Start free with EleplanThis page uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (2026-06-23) — Human Phenotype Ontology Consortium, hpo.jax.org. Disease associations from Orphanet (INSERM), CC BY 4.0. Content is educational and is not medical advice.