THE SAGITTAL GROWTH OF THE EYE

The length of the optic axis is measured ultrasonically by adding the values for the depth of the anterior chamber, the length of the axial diameter of the lens, and the length of the posterior segment (the vitreous). T h e object of this s tudy is t o investigate t h e axial l eng th of t he eye in bo th sexes f r o m bir th t o puberty a n d t o th row l ight o n t h e relationship be tween i ts components ( t h e d e p t h of t h e anterior chamber, t h e axial diameter of t h e lens and t h e l eng th of t h e v i treous) during t h e same period. A considerable number of measurements of the sagittal diameter of the eye have been made in enucleated eyes from newborns. Most authors give mean values for the outer diameter of the bulb of between 1 7 and 18 mm (von Jaeger 1861, Merkel & Orr 1892, Halben 1900, Sorsby & Sheridan 1960) but mean values as low as 16.4 mm (Weiss 1897) have also been given. Ultrasonic measurements of the axial length in living newborns were made by Gernet (1964), Luyckx (1966) and Grignolo & Rivara (1968), who all give mean values in the neighbourhood of 17 mm. Our knowledge of the longitudinal growth of the axis after birth is based mainly on studies made by Weiss (1897), Halben (1900) and Favoloro (1934) in