stereoscopy

stereoscopy [‚ster·ē′äs·kə·pē]

(physiology)

The phenomenon of simultaneous vision with two eyes in which there is a vivid perception of the distances of objects from the viewer; it is present because the two eyes view objects in space from two points, so that the retinal image patterns of the same object are slightly different in the two eyes. Also known as stereopsis; stereoscopic vision.

---

Stereoscopy

The phenomenon of simultaneous vision with two eyes, producing a visual experience of the third dimension, that is, a vivid perception of the relative distances of objects in space. In this experience the observer seems to see the space between the objects located at different distances from the eyes.

Stereopsis, or stereoscopic vision, is believed to have an innate origin in the anatomic and physiologic structures of the retinas of the eyes and the visual cortex. It is present in normal binocular vision because the two eyes view objects in space from two points, so that the retinal image patterns of the same object points in space are slightly different in the two eyes. The stereoscope, with which different pictures can be presented to each eye, demonstrates the fundamental difference between stereoscopic perception of depth and the conception of depth and distance from the monocular view. See Vision