[Hereditary nystagmus]

Hereditary nystagm occurs in latent and manifest form. It can be occur in isolation or together with certain hereditary alterations of the eye or of the central nervous system. The objection to a sharp separation of isolated (extraocular) and ocular hereditary nystagm is that no causal relationship between hereditary bulbar alterations and nystagm need exist. Survey of the hereditary transmission of latent and manifest nystagm in extraocular occurrence as well as in hereditary alterations of the eye and of the central nervous system. Reference to the significance of the brain stem for sight regulation and for the occurrence of hereditary latent and manifest nystagm. In operative treatment of nystagmic torticollis, Kestenbaum's principle must be taken very thoroughly into account to avoid therapeutic failures, as has been demonstrated by some practical examples.