STRUCTURES OF THE HUMAN EYE
CORNEA – A curved band of strong, clear tissue on the surface of the eye, the cornea focuses light into the retina. This is the structure that is involved in laser refractive surgery.
SCLERA – The outer white coat of the eye, the sclera also provides protection.
IRIS – The colored part of your eye, it is actually a muscle that controls the size of the pupil.
PUPIL – The black circular area in the middle of the eye that controls the amount of light reaching the retina. Pupil size is important in determining whether a patient will have post-op laser vision correction glare. It will also influence the size of the laser treatment.
LENS – A natural lens behind the pupil that changes shape to allow the eye to focus. As you age, your natural lens cannot change shape, resulting in presbyopia – the loss of reading vision. For patients who are “too” nearsighted or have corneas that are too thin for laser vision correction, a clear lens extraction with an intraocular lens implantation is considered. When the natural lens gets cloudy it is referred to as a cataract. Cataract surgery is considered once a cataract interferes with vision to an extent that it hinders daily activities.
VITREOUS – The vitreous is a gel-like material that occupies space in the back portion of the eye. Over time, changes occur to vitreous which can result in a patient seeing “floaters”. It is important for patients to call their eye doctor for a dilated exam if they see new floaters or an increase in floaters – to ensure that the retina is healthy.
RETINA – A membrane on the inner wall of your eye, similar to the film in a camera, the retina changes light into images that are transferred to the brain via the optic nerve.
OPTIC NERVE – The optic nerve sends the visual signal from the eye to the brain. A common condition that can effect the optic nerve is glaucoma. Your eye doctor will screen you for glaucoma during your dilated eye exam.
