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The capacity of water-soluble polymers (polyethylenimine, polyvinylpyrrolidone with copolymers) to induce posterior detachment of the vitreous by its rapid condensation (vitreosynerysis) was studied in experiments on 14 rabbits. Histological studies showed that water-soluble polymers specifically react forming complexes with components of the vitreous. The vitreous shrinks under the effect of polyelectrolytes (vitreosynerysis), which leads to its posterior detachment 1.5 h after injection of the polymer into the vitreous cavity: complete detachment was attained in 2 animals and partial in 8. The degree of vitreosynerysis depends on the complex-forming activity of polyelectrolytes towards the vitreous components. Polymers used in our study exerted no toxic or traction effects on the adjacent structures of the eye.