This activity is supported by an educational grant from Abbott Medical Optics, Inc.
Transversal mode produces a side-to-side motion, whereas longitudinal mode produces an in-and-out motion. Transversal movement tends to be more efficient because a left-to-right cutting action can “shave” apart the nucleus as opposed to fracturing the nucleus with longitudinal movement. It is comparable to thinly slicing a hard block of parmesan cheese with a cheese slicer (transversal cutting) versus cutting the block down the middle with a knife (longitudinal cutting).
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