title: Medial pontine syndrome
text: # Medial pontine syndrome
  
  Medial inferior pontine syndrome is a condition associated with a contralateral hemiplegia."Medial inferior pontine syndrome" has been described as equivalent to Foville's syndrome.
  
  ## Presentation
  
  Although medial pontine syndrome has many similarities to medial medullary syndrome, because it is located higher up the brainstem in the pons, it affects a different set of cranial nuclei.
  
  | Structure affected | Presentation |
  | - | - |
  | Corticospinal tract | Contralateral spastic hemiparesis |
  | Medial lemniscus | Contralateral PCML (aka DCML) pathway loss (tactile, vibration, and stereognosis) |
  | Abducens nerve | Strabismus (ipsilateral lateral rectus muscle paralysis - the affected eye looks down and towards the nose). Abducens nerve lesion localizes the lesion to inferior pons. |
  
  Depending upon the size of the infarct, it can also involve the facial nerve.
  
  ## Cause
  
  Medial pontine syndrome results from occlusion of paramedian branches of the basilar artery.
  
  