Six of the seven extrinsic muscles of the orbit are directly involved in movements of the eyeball.
For each of the rectus muscles, the medial, lateral, inferior, and superior, and the superior and inferior obliques, a specific action or group of actions can be described (Table 8.8). However, these muscles do not act in isolation. They work as teams of muscles in the coordinated movement of the eyeball to position the pupil as needed.