1 Comparative analysis of the corneal birefringence pattern in healthy children and adults Running head: Birefringent pattern changes in children & adults Marcelina Sobczak 1 , Magdalena Asejczyk 1 , Kamil Kalinowski 1 , Barbara Pierścionek 2,3 1 Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Department of Optics and Photonics, Wrocław, Poland 2 School of Life Sciences and Education, Staffordshire University, College Road, Stoke-on- Trent, ST4 2DF UK 3 Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford Campus, Bishop Hall Lane, Chelmsford CM1 QSQ UK Corresponding author: Marcelina Sobczak, marcelina.sobczak@pwr.edu.pl Key words: birefringence, cornea, isochromatics, isochromes, corneal structure