The Six Muscles of the Eye The human eye has six eye muscles. They are split into two primary groups: the recti muscles and the oblique muscles. The four recti muscles are the lateral rectus, the medial rectus, the inferior rectus, and the superior rectus while the two oblique muscles are the inferior oblique and the superior oblique. In this post, we’ll talk about each of the six muscles and discover their function and purpose in the human eye. Lateral Rectus The lateral rectus is a muscle of the eye’s orbit. The main function of this muscle is to pull the pupil away from the midline of the body. The word lateral rectus comes from the Latin latus , meaning “side” and rectus, “straight.” Here is more in-depth information on the lateral rectus muscle: “The lateral rectus originates at the lateral part of the annulus of Zinn, also known as the annular tendon or common tendinous ring, and inserts into the temporal side of the eyeball. The annu...