Relative hypoplasia of the optic nerve

Meticulous comparison of optic nervehead size has revealed detectable differences in as many as 10% of patients. In many cases the larger nervehead has a larger cup. This may result in the false impression of glaucoma and may be the most common cause of asymmetric cupping in the absence of active, progressive disease. Two cases demonstrating this finding are reviewed with a discussion of its detection and diagnosis.