Sensory Problems of Eyes and Ears Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering sensory problems of the eyes and ears, including refractive errors, eye infections, corneal conditions, cataracts, retinopathies, retinal detachment, macular degeneration, glaucoma, glaucoma medications, hearing loss types, and Meniere's disease based on lecture notes.

Refraction

The eye's ability to bend light rays so they fall on the retina.

Refraction Error

A condition in which light does not focus properly on the retina.

Retina

The screen in the eye where images need to focus.

Myopia

Nearsightedness, where a person can see near objects better than far objects; the most common refraction error, resulting from excessive refraction by the cornea/lens or an abnormally long eye.

Hyperopia

Farsightedness, where far vision is better than near vision because light focuses behind the retina, requiring accommodation to focus on near objects.

Accommodation

Changing the shape of the lens to focus on objects at different distances.

Presbyopia

Age-related loss of accommodation that makes focusing on close objects increasingly difficult.

Astigmatism

Uneven or irregular curvature of the cornea that causes light to focus irregularly rather than at one clear point.

Hordeolum

A sty; a small, superficial white nodule along the eyelid margin caused by an infection of a meibomian gland, usually bacterial (especially Staphylococcus aureus).

Meibomian Glands

Glands along the eyelids that produce the oily portion of tears.

Chalazion

A chronic inflammatory granuloma of a meibomian gland that may develop from a hordeolum.

Conjunctivitis

Inflammation or infection of the conjunctiva, the membrane covering the white portion of the eye and inner eyelid.

Bacterial Conjunctivitis

A conjunctival infection commonly called pinkeye that is usually self-limiting and can be treated with antibiotic drops to shorten its course.

Allergic Conjunctivitis

Conjunctival inflammation caused by exposure to an allergen, characterized by burning, redness, and tearing.

Chlamydial Conjunctivitis

An infection of the conjunctiva causing mucopurulent discharge, irritation, redness, and eyelid swelling that can cause trachoma, a major cause of blindness worldwide.

Keratitis

Inflammation or infection of the cornea.

Corneal Ulcer

A major complication of corneal infection resulting in tissue loss that requires aggressive treatment to prevent permanent vision loss or blindness.

Photophobia

Sensitivity or pain caused by light.

Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca

Dry eye disorder caused by a decreased quality or quantity of tear film, most common in older adults and associated with autoimmune conditions such as Scleroderma, SLE, and Sjogren's.

Cataracts

An opacity or clouding of the lens that causes painless, gradual visual impairment described as looking through a cloudy window.

Retinopathy

Microvascular damage to the retina involving small blood vessels.

Nonproliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

The most common form of diabetic retinopathy, characterized by capillary microaneurysms, retinal swelling, hard exudates, and hemorrhaging.

Macular Edema

Leakage of plasma from blood vessels around the macula, representing worsening retinopathy that can result in severe central vision loss.

Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

A form of diabetic retinopathy where new, abnormal, fragile blood vessels develop that are predisposed to leaking and can cause severe vision loss.

Papilledema

Swelling of the optic disc or nerve caused by severe, sustained hypertension, which can cause sudden vision loss.

Retinal Detachment

Separation of the sensory retina from the underlying pigment epithelium, with fluid accumulating between the layers.

Retinal Hole

An atrophic retinal break that may occur spontaneously.

Retinal Tear

A retinal break occurring when the vitreous humor shrinks with aging and pulls on the retina until traction exceeds retinal strength.

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

A progressive disease affecting the macula (which is responsible for detailed central vision) and the most common cause of irreversible central vision loss in people over 60.

Dry AMD

The most common form of AMD (90% of cases) characterized by the slow, progressive accumulation of drusen in the retinal pigment epithelium, leading to macular cell atrophy and degeneration.

Drusen

Yellowish extracellular deposits that accumulate in the retinal pigment epithelium in Dry AMD.

Wet AMD

A severe form of AMD (10% of cases) in which VEGF stimulates the growth of abnormal new blood vessels that grow, leak, bleed, and scar, causing rapid vision loss.

Scotomas

Blind spots in the visual field.

Metamorphopsia

A visual distortion in which straight lines appear bent or wavy.

Glaucoma

A group of eye conditions characterized by increased intraocular pressure (IOP), optic nerve atrophy, and peripheral visual-field loss.

Aqueous Humor

Fluid inside the anterior portion of the eye whose balance between production (inflow) and drainage (outflow) determines IOP.

Open-Angle Glaucoma

The most common type of glaucoma, characterized by slow, painless, and progressive peripheral visual field loss leading eventually to tunnel vision.

Closed/Angle-Closure Glaucoma

An emergency form of glaucoma caused by a narrowed angle between the iris and cornea that blocks aqueous outflow when the pupil dilates, leading to sudden severe eye pain, colored halos around lights, N/V, and blurred vision.

Timolol / Betaxolol

Beta-adrenergic blocker eye drops used to lower IOP by decreasing aqueous humor production; contraindicated in bradycardia, cardiogenic shock, and heart failure due to potential systemic absorption.

Brimonidine

An alpha-adrenergic agonist (Alphagan) used in open-angle glaucoma that decreases IOP by decreasing aqueous humor production.

Nasolacrimal Pressure

Pressure applied to the inner corner of the eye for one minute after instilling glaucoma eye drops to reduce systemic absorption.

Presbycusis

Age-related hearing loss characterized by difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds and understanding speech in background noise.

Conductive Hearing Loss

Hearing loss caused by an issue conducting sound through the outer or middle ear, leading to difficulty hearing soft sounds and causing louder sounds to sound muffled.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Hearing loss caused by problems involving the inner ear or neural sensory pathways, making soft sounds hard to hear and louder sounds muffled or distorted.

Meniere's Disease

A progressive inner ear disorder involving the accumulation of endolymph in the membranous labyrinth, characterized by episodic vertigo, tinnitus, ear pressure/fullness, and progressive hearing loss.

Endolymph

Fluid contained within the structures of the inner ear.

Vertigo

The false sensation that oneself or surroundings are spinning.

Tinnitus

Ringing or another perceived sound in the ear without an external sound source.