Comparison of palpebral fissure obliquity in three different racial groups

Purpose: To compare the obliquity of the palpebral fissures of three differ ent racial populations. Methods: Prospective observational study. Frontal views of the palpebral fi ssures of three different groups of subjects (Brazilian whites, Brazilian J apanese, and Brazilian Indians from the Upper Rio Negro Basin of the Amazon as State) were acquired with a photographic camera and transferred to a Mac intosh computer. Using the National Institutes of Health Image software (NT H Image), the angle formed by the inner and the outer canthi was measured f or all images. Results: The mean fissure angle of the Japanese (9.39 degrees) was not stat istically different from the mean angle of the Indians (9.64 degrees). On t he other hand, both were significantly greater than the mean angle of the w hites (4.60 degrees). Conclusions: Marked fissure obliquity is found more frequently among Asians than among whites.