[The use of an optical polarization method for the evaluation of oculomotor muscle function in vertical deviation]

The state of oculomotor muscles in vertical deviation has been studied by means of polarioptic method. A control group included 62 healthy persons, of them 24 (48 eyes) with orthophoria, 19 (38 eyes) with esophoria and 19 (38 eyes) with exophoria. A group of patients with vertical deviation included 39 (78 eyes) with concomitant convergent squint with a vertical component and 9 children (18 eyes) with concomitant vertical squint without a horizontal component. In patients with vertical squint, the polarioptic method revealed high frequency of functional muscular imbalance and anatomic asymmetry of muscles of both horizontal and vertical action. It is shown that in case of convergent squint with a vertical action, not only the frequency is higher, but to a much greater degree increases the value of anatomic asymmetry in the position of horizontal muscles.