Question:

Shifting fluid (shifting subretinal fluid) is characteristically seen in which condition?

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Free serous fluid with no break or traction will pool wherever gravity takes it.
Updated On: Jun 23, 2026
  • Exudative retinal detachment
  • Tractional retinal detachment
  • Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment
  • Retinodialysis
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The Correct Option is A

Solution and Explanation

Answer: Exudative retinal detachment.
Step 1: In exudative (serous) retinal detachment, fluid leaks from the choroid or retinal vessels into the subretinal space, but there is no retinal break and no vitreoretinal traction.
Step 2: Because the fluid is free and not anchored to a break or fibrous band, it moves under gravity. When the patient changes posture, the subretinal fluid flows to the most dependent part of the retina. This is the hallmark sign of shifting fluid.
Step 3: In rhegmatogenous detachment the fluid enters through a break and the detachment is more fixed, while tractional detachment is pulled by fibrous membranes (concave, taut). Neither shows free shifting fluid. Retinodialysis is a peripheral retinal break, a cause of rhegmatogenous detachment.
Ref: Khurana, Comprehensive Ophthalmology.
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