Glossary of
Retinal Anatomy & Eye Injury Terminology |
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Anterior
A term in anatomy to indicate location in the front. In
ophthalmology anterior indicates the portions of the eye most external
towards the front of the face. The front cornea surface to the back
of the lens is the portion of the eye known as the anterior segment.
Aphakia The status
of an eye that has had the lens removed surgically for cataract
or lost through injury and has had no replacement lens implanted.
Cataract A condition of the focusing lens of the eye when the
lens become cloudy reducing light transmission to the retina and
hence diminishing visual acuity. Cataracts are commonly associated
with aging but also may be precipitated by trauma
Closed Globe Injury - the absence of any full thickness wound to the eyewall (the sclera and the cornea)
Cornea Transparent
tissue over the colored iris of the eye providing a window for light
to pass through the pupil to the retina. May become opaque
from disease or injury disrupting light transmission and reducing
vision.
Endophthalmitis
Most often describes a serious intraocular bacterial
infection that requires immediate medical care and often surgery.
May be the result of a penetrating eye injury.
Enucleating
The surgical procedure for removing an eye in cases of
trauma so severe that no chance for restoration of function or appearance
is possible. The eye is replaced with a prosthetic eye
which is matched to the remaining eye for normal appearance.
Fovea The
center of the macula. The point of best vision.
Hyphema
Bleeding as from injury into the anterior segment of the
eye. Sometimes can be visualized with the naked eye coloring
the front of the eye a red or rusty color and obscuring transmission
of light past the pupil.
Hypotony An abnormal condition of low intraocular pressure
Macula
The area of the retina responsible for detail vision, like reading
and recognizing faces, and color vision.
Macular
Degeneration Any deterioration of the macula tissue.
Most commonly used to describe Age Related Macular Degeneration,
a condition characterized by pigment and blood vessel deterioration
beneath the neurosensory macula.
Neurosensory
(neural) retina That portion of the retinal tissue electrical
that is directly responsible for creating impulses interpreted by
the brain as vision.
Open Globe Full thickness wound of the eyewall.
Optic Nerve Sensory nerve that transmits impulses from the retina
to the brain that become what we know as vision. Unlike the
cornea or the lens the optic nerve can not be replaced with an artificial
device or a transplant. Nor can it be repaired as the retina
can in some cases.
Penetrating
eye injury Injury to the eye that causes an entrance wound
and/or an intraocular foreign body.
Penetrating
keratoplasty Surgical procedure known in lay terms as
a corneal transplant. Injured or diseased corneal tissue
that is no longer functional is surgically removed and replaced
with human donor corneal tissue as a corneal graft or transplant.
Perforating eye injury - Injury to the eye that causes
an entrance and exit wound as in for example a BB pellet that enters
in one location and exits another.
Phakia The status of an eye that retains the natural lens-- the focusing
element of the ocular system.
Posterior
Anatomical location in back as in the back most inner
portions of the eye--from the back surface of the lens through the
vitreous cavity, retina, optic nerve to the sclera.
Pseudophakia
The status of an eye that has had an intraocular lens
implanted when a cataract is removed.
Proliferative vitreoretinopathy Pre retinal fibrous
membranes that can cause complicated recurrent retinal detachment
not uncommonly seen following serious injury to the eye. May
be referred to as scarring or scar tissue on the retina.
Phthisis, Phthisis bulbi, Phthisical eye A condition
of the eyeball that may result from severe injury when the eye loses
function and shrinks in size.
Retina Anatomical layered, light-sensitive nerve tissue lining the interior
of the eye allowing the transmission of electrical impulses to the
brain interpreted as vision.
Retinal
detachment (RD) Separation of the neurosensory retina from
the underlying retinal pigment epithelium. Can occur with
or without trauma.
Retinal dialysis, edema, hemorrhage, laceration, prolapse, rupture, tear, Various forms of structural damage to the retina from ocular
trauma that can occur singularly or in combinations.
Ruptured Globe Full thickness wound of the eyewall caused by a blunt object or blunt force.
Scleral
buckle Surgical implant device sewn onto the sclera, used
to indent the globe of the eye inwards to facilitate the reattachment
of the retina.
Silicone
Oil A liquid surgical device which is implanted
in the posterior segment as an aid to supporting retinal reattachment
and as a preventative against excessive retinal scarring. Usually
silicone oil is removed at a later procedure.
Temporary
keratoprosthesis (TKP) Molded plastic surgical device
used in place of damaged, opaque cornea during surgery to the interior
of the eye to allow visualization. Device is removed at the
conclusion of surgery and replaced with a donor tissue corneal graft.
Vitreous Transparent, inert, jelly-like substance that fills the interior
of the eye.
Vitreous
Hemorrhage Bleeding in the vitreous cavity in front of
the retina (in the posterior segment of the eye). May be caused
by either disease or injury and may be dense enough to prevent the
retina from receiving light.
Vitrectomy Microsurgical technique for removing the vitreous from the eye,
done alone for some vitreal disorders and in combination with other
procedures for some retinal conditions or injuries.
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rev. Nov 2008
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