How to test for a relative afferent pupillary defect (RAPD)
The ‘swinging light test’ is used to detect a relative afferent pupil defect (RAPD): a means of detecting differences between the two eyes in how they respond to a light shone in one eye at a time. The test can be very useful for detecting unilateral or asymmetrical disease of the retina or optic nerve (but only optic nerve disease that occurs in front of the optic chiasm).
The physiological basis of the RAPD test is that, in healthy eyes, the reaction of the pupils in the right and left eyes are linked. In other words, a bright light shone into one eye leads to an equal constriction of both pupils. When the light source is taken away, the pupils of both eyes enlarge equally. This is called the consensual light reflex.
To understand how the pupils react to light, it is important to understand the light reflex pathway. This pathway has two parts.
The afferent part of the pathway (red) refers to the nerve impulse/message sent from the pupil to the brain along the optic nerve when a light is shone in that eye.
The efferent part of the pathway (blue) is the impulse/message that is sent from the mid-brain back to both pupils via the ciliary ganglion and the third cranial nerve (the oculomotor nerve), causing both pupils to constrict, even even though only one eye is being stimulated by the light.
The light reflex pathway showing the afferent path (red) and the efferect path (blue)
A positive RAPD means there are differences between the two eyes in the afferent pathway due to retinal or optic nerve disease. If the light used is sufficiently bright, even a dense cataract or corneal scar will not give a RAPD as long as the retina and optic nerve are healthy. Indeed, the test can be used to assess the health of the retina and optic nerve behind a dense cataract, for example.
In glaucoma, if other tests of visual function are not possible, detecting a RAPD can be very useful as it indicates that there is more optic nerve damage in one eye than in the other, even if the visual acuity in both eyes is equal.
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SWINGING LIGHT TEST
ALL OCULAR TEST
OPTOMETRY-SHARP VISION
Optometrist