Paralysis of the eyelid muscles, preventing normal blinking or eye closure.
From Greek blepharon (eyelid) + plēgē (stroke, paralysis). The term combines the anatomical prefix with a medical suffix describing loss of muscle function, evolving in 19th-century medical terminology to describe eye-specific nerve damage.
Bell's palsy can cause blepharoplegia on one side of the face, which is why people with this condition struggle to blink properly—and why doctors worry about dry eye damage during recovery. It's a dramatic reminder that something as automatic as blinking depends on precise nerve control.
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