19th Century mechanical models of eye movements, Donders’ law, Listing’s law and Helmholtz’ direction circles

Abstract

Donders, Ruete, von Graefe, von Helmholtz, Listing, Volkmann and many others have provided the broad outline of an answer to the question how the eye rotates during eye movements. Many mechanical models of eye movements, ophthalmotropes, have been constructed and studied in the nineteenth century. These models have primarily served to explain Donders' and Listing's Laws on the nature of eye movements. As both Donders' Law and Listing's Law are easier to understand when seen against the background of the coordinate systems used to describe eye movements, all of the coordinate systems currently in use in the diagnosis and treatment of strabismus are described. In addition, the reader is introduced to a coordinate system based on von Helmholtz' direction circles, circles describing the direction of the horizontal and vertical retinal meridians in all positions of gaze.