‘Every contact leaves a trace’—Imaging features in a rare case of isolated complete oculomotor nerve palsy following penetrating injury

Isolated complete third cranial nerve palsy following penetrating head injury has been rarely reported. We report a very rare case of complete sudden unilateral oculomotor nerve palsy following penetrating injury and its MR imaging features.A 17-year-old man sustained clinically subtle penetrating injury to the left side of the head with instantaneous isolated oculomotor palsy on the same side. MR imaging followed by CT study revealed the path of the penetrating nail and gave evidence for the mechanism of injury of the third nerve.