A condition of the eye muscles where the eyes tend to turn in different directions when not focused together; latent strabismus.
From Greek hetero- (different) + -phoria (bearing/carrying direction). This medical term emerged in 19th-century ophthalmology to describe eye muscle imbalance.
Heterophoria is when your eye muscles aren't perfectly balanced—if you cover one eye, the uncovered one might drift inward, outward, up, or down! It's usually mild and you don't notice it because your brain compensates automatically.
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