On classification approaches, terminology and modern principles of treatment of pathologies associated with high myopia. Part 1. Criteria for high myopia and pathological myopia

Myopic refraction is the most common ocular pathology, currently affecting about 1.5 billion people worldwide. Recent decades have seen a trend towards a significant increase in myopia prevalence, which is likely to continue in the near future. Therefore, we observe some kind of an epidemic of myopia. The greatest concern is caused by cases of uncorrectable visual impairment associated with myopia, which make pathological (degenerative) myopia one of the leading causes of low vision and blindness in many countries. At the same time, there is still no uniform interpretation of such important concepts as “high myopia” and “pathological myopia”, which can negatively affect various aspects of clinical and scientific interaction among ophthalmologists. The article provides an overview of modern work on the above issues and proposes definitions of terms to be used in the healthcare system of the Russian Federation