Medical Terminology: The Eye and Ear

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to the eye and ear from the lecture notes.

Sclera

Tough, protective, white outer layer of the eye.

Choroid

Middle layer of the eye, containing blood vessels.

Retina

Innermost layer of the eye, containing photoreceptor cells.

Conjunctiva

Mucous membrane lining the eyelids and covering the front of the eyeball.

Lacrimal apparatus

Produces tears to lubricate the eye.

Cornea

Admits light rays into the eyeball.

Iris and pupil

Regulate the amount of light entering the eyeball.

Lens

Focuses light rays onto the retina.

Choroid Layer

Supplies blood to eye structure

Ophthalmology

Branch of medicine involving the diagnosis and treatment of conditions and diseases of the eye and surrounding structures.

Optician

Vision specialist who is trained in grinding and fitting corrective lenses.

Optometry

Medical profession specializing in examining the eyes, testing visual acuity, and prescribing corrective lenses.

Blepharoptosis

Drooping eyelid

Diplopia

Double vision

Emmetropia

State of normal vision

Ophthalmalgia

Eye Pain

Scleromalacia

Softening of the sclera.

Xerophthalmia

Condition of dry eyes.

Corneal abrasion

Scraping injury to the cornea

Glaucoma

Increase in intraocular pressure

Iritis

Inflammation of the iris.

Legally blind

Severely impaired vision

Legally blind

Severely impaired vision; visual acuity of 20/200 that cannot be improved with corrected lenses or a visual field of less than 20 degrees

Macular degeneration

Deterioration of the macular area of the retina

Monochromatism

Inability to perceive one color

Fungus infection of the eye

Oculomycosis

Retinal detachment

Separation of the retina from the choroid layer

Retinitis pigmentosa

Progressive disease in which the retina becomes hard, pigmented, and atrophied

Retinopathy

General term for disease affecting the retina

Scleritis

Inflammation of the sclera

Uveitis

Inflammation of the choroid layer of the eye

Conjunctivitis

Inflammation of the conjunctiva, usually from bacterial infection; also called pink eye

Pterygium

Hypertrophied conjunctival tissue in the inner corner of the eye

Blepharitis

Inflammation of the eyelid

Hordeolum

Purulent inflammatory infection a sebaceous gland of the eyelid; also called a stye or sty

Dacryoadenitis

Inflammation of the lacrimal gland

Dacryocystitis

Inflammation of the lacrimal sac

Esotropia (ET)

Inward turning of the eye

Exotropia (XT)

Outward turning of the eye

Strabismus

Eye muscle weakness that results in the eyes looking in different directions at same time

Hemianopia

Loss of vision in half of the visual field

Nystagmus

Jerky involuntary eye movement; often indicates brain injury

Color vision tests

Use of multicolored charts to determine a patient’s ability to recognize color

Fluorescein angiography

Process of injecting fluorescein dye to observe the movement of blood and detect lesions in the retina

Fluorescein staining

Application of bright green fluorescent eye drops to the cornea to look for abrasions or ulcers

Keratometer

Instrument used to measure the curvature of the cornea

Keratometry

Process of measuring the curvature of the cornea

Ophthalmoscope

Instrument used to examine the inside of the eye

Ophthalmoscopy

Process of examining the interior of the eye using an ophthalmoscope

Optometer

Instrument used to measure how well the eye focuses images on the retina

Refractive error test

Vision test for a defect in the eye’s ability to accurately focus an image

Slit lamp microscopy

Process of visually examining the conjunctiva, cornea, iris, and lens

Snellen chart

Chart used for testing distance vision

Tonometry

Measurement of intraocular pressure using a tonometer to check for glaucoma

Visual acuity (VA) test

Measures the sharpness of a patient’s vision

Blepharectomy

Surgical removal of all or part of the eyelid

Blepharoplasty

Surgical repair of the eyelid

Conjunctivoplasty

Surgical repair of the conjunctiva

Cryopexy

Surgical fixation of the retina using extreme cold

Enucleation

Surgical removal of an eyeball

Intraocular lens (IOL) implant

Use of an artificial lens to replace the lens removed during cataract surgery

Iridectomy

Surgical removal of a small portion of the iris

Iridosclerotomy

Cutting into the iris and sclera

Keratoplasty

Surgical repair of the cornea

Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK)

Correction of myopia using laser surgery to remove corneal tissue

Laser photocoagulation

Use of a laser to destroy very small precise areas of the retina

Phacoemulsification

Use of high-frequency sound waves to liquefy a lens with a cataract, which is then removed with a needle

Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK)

Surgical use of a laser to reshape the cornea and correct errors of refraction

Pneumatic retinopexy

Surgical injection of a gas bubble into the eye and positioning the head such that the bubble presses against an area of detached retina

Radial keratotomy (RK)

Making spokelike incisions around the cornea to flatten it; used to treat myopia

Retinopexy

Surgical fixation of the retina

Scleral buckling

Placing a silicone band around the outside of the sclera to stabilize a detached retina

Sclerotomy

Cutting into the sclera

Strabotomy

Making an incision into the eye muscles to correct strabismus

Anesthetic ophthalmic solution

Eye drops used to relieve pain associated with eye infections, corneal abrasions, or surgery

Antibiotic ophthalmic solution

Eye drops used to treat bacterial infection

Antiglaucoma medications

Reduce intraocular pressure by lowering amount of aqueous humor

Artificial tears

Treat dry eyes

Miotics drops

Constrict the pupil

Mydriatic drops

Dilate the pupil

Ophthalmic decongestants

Constrict the arterioles of the eye to reduce redness and itching

ARMD

Age-related macular degeneration

c.gl.

Correction with glasses

D

Diopters (lens strength)

DVA

Distance visual acuity

ECCE

Extracapsular cataract extraction

EENT

Eyes, ears, nose, throat

EM

Emmetropia

EOM

Extraocular movement

ET

Esotropia

ICCE

Intracapsular cataract extraction

IOL

Intraocular lens

IOP

Intraocular pressure

LASIK

Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis

MY

Myopia

Ophth

Ophthalmology

PERRLA

Pupils equal, round, react to light and accommodation

PRK

Photorefractive keratectomy

REM

Rapid eye movement

RK

Radial keratotomy