What visual alignment issue occurs with both 'tropia' and 'phoria'?

Both 'tropia' and 'phoria' are terms related to the alignment of the eyes, and they represent different aspects of strabismus (eye misalignment). In both cases, there can be a misalignment of the eyes relative to each other.

In 'tropia', there is a constant misalignment of the eyes, meaning one eye is misaligned with the other, which can be observed all the time. In contrast, 'phoria' involves a latent misalignment that may be present only when the patient is not using both eyes together, typically becoming apparent when one eye is covered. Despite these differences in how the misalignment manifests, both conditions indicate that there is a failure of proper ocular alignment.

Muscle imbalances can contribute to both tropia and phoria, as they often arise from issues with the extraocular muscles that control eye movement. However, the ability to observe or detect misalignment in both cases is more directly related to the presence of misalignment itself, making the concept of misalignment central to understanding both conditions.

Refractive errors and infections do not inherently indicate visual alignment issues like tropia and phoria do, as they pertain to different aspects of visual health and do not necessarily