Axial lengths and refractive errors in kittens reared with an optically induced anisometropia.

An anisometropia was simulated in kittens during the critical period of development by securing a high-powered negative lens in front of one eye. Refractive error measurements obtained with an objective infrared optometer indicated that the deprived eyes of the anisometropic kittens were significantly more myopic than the normal eyes. A-scan ultrasonography showed that these differences in refractive error were correlated with an increase in the axial dimensions of the deprived eyes. The results of this experiment demonstrate that form deprivation associated with a habitually defocused retinal image produces an experimental myopia which is similar in nature to the refractive error changes produced by lid fusion and corneal opacification.