MOBIUS'S SYNDROME* BY

Various terms have been applied to this condition: Mobius's syndrome, congenital facial diplegia, congenital oculo-facial paralysis, nuclear agenesis, and congenital nuclear aplasia. It was originally described by von Graefe (1880), Harlan (1881), and Chisolm (1882). M6bius (1892) collected 43 cases of congenital and acquired cranial nerve palsies and classified them into six groups. One group consisted of six cases of bilateral abducens and facial nerve palsies. Since then Mobius's name has been associated with this condition. It is relatively uncommon and its bizarre association of lesions may cause affected children to be taken to a paediatrician, an orthopaedic surgeon, an ophthalmologist, or a child psychiatrist. The purposes of the present paper are to record three more cases of this rare condition, to report the absence of any association with Rh incompatibility, and to suggest that the clue to its aetiology may lie in a more detailed investigation of pregnancy histories. A typical case of Mobius's syndrome shows the following features