Ophthalmology is a field of clinical medicine that studies eye diseases: pathological conditions of the eyeball and the accessory apparatus of the eye – lacrimal glands, eyelids, conjunctiva, as well as bone and soft tissue structures surrounding the eyes.
The most important task of ophthalmology is the development and improvement of methods for the prevention, detection and treatment of eye diseases aimed at preserving and correcting visual function. Specialists in the field of eye diseases are ophthalmologists. More narrow ophthalmological specialties include surgical and laser ophthalmology, ophthalmooncology, ophthalmic traumatology, pediatric ophthalmology, etc.
The visual analyzer is a unique sense organ in its meaning. With the help of vision, a person receives up to 80% of information about the world around him. Unfortunately, the percentage of people suffering from eye diseases worldwide is steadily increasing. Therefore, it is so important to have an idea of the first signs of eye diseases, measures for the prevention of ophthalmopathology and ways of its treatment, as well as to understand the importance of timely seeking qualified ophthalmological care.
A disease of this category can occur at any age: they can be genetically determined, congenital, acquired. In children, a significant decrease and loss of vision leads to a delay in mental development, negatively affects the speech function, the motor sphere in the future, forms distorted, fuzzy, fragmentary ideas about the surrounding reality, makes it difficult to establish social ties and behavioral skills in society.
In this regard, the system of early care in ophthalmology provides screening of newborns, children of early, preschool and school age in order to identify subclinical signs (retinopathy of prematurity, strabismus, amblyopia, glaucoma, cataracts, myopia, hyperopia, etc.) and provide early correctional medical and pedagogical assistance.
Acquired diseases can be associated with common and infectious human diseases: beriberi A, measles rubella, diabetes mellitus, injuries, chronic foci of bacterial infection, hypertension, atherosclerosis, renal pathology, neurological diseases, pregnancy pathology, etc. Most often in ophthalmology eye diseases are diagnosed, characterized by abnormalities in the optical apparatus of the eye – hyperopia, presbyopia, myopia, astigmatism, etc.
A large group of eye diseases consists of inflammatory pathology of various structures of the organ of vision – conjunctivitis, keratitis, blepharitis, iridocyclitis, retinitis, uveitis, endophthalmitis, barley, etc. Traumatic damage to the structures of the eye is extremely dangerous in its consequences – burns, mechanical damage to the eyes, ingestion of foreign bodies.
Diseases can develop acutely or gradually, suddenly manifesting itself with a sharp decrease in vision. This kind of pathology primarily includes diseases of the neurovascular apparatus of the eye: atrophy of the optic nerve, ischemic neuropathy of the optic nerve, occlusion of the arteries and veins of the retina, chorioretinal dystrophy, etc. Factors that negatively affect the function of vision and increase the risk of eye diseases are considered age, chronic heart and vascular diseases, metabolic diseases, adverse environmental conditions, stress, smoking, deficiency of vitamins and rare trace elements (zinc, selenium), etc.
The last decades have been marked by the rapid development of ophthalmology. At the disposal of specialists today are modern equipment, innovative technologies, minimally invasive techniques. To detect eye diseases, a large range of diagnostic techniques is used – test, biometric, ultrasound, electrophysiological, X-ray, optical, laboratory, etc. Laser installations used for vision correction, treatment of corneal and retinal pathology, glaucoma and cataracts have found wide application in the surgery of eye diseases.
Traditional therapeutic manipulations, hardware methods of vision correction, microsurgical techniques for the treatment have not lost their relevance in ophthalmology. To date, most surgical interventions in ophthalmology can be performed on an outpatient basis.
Aphakia is a pathological condition of the organ of vision, which is characterized by the absence of a lens in the eyeball. Clinically, the disease is manifested by a decrease in visual acuity, trembling of the iris, loss of the ability to accommodate and asthenopic complaints. Diagnosis of aphakia includes visometry, gonioscopy, biomicroscopy, ophthalmoscopy, refractometry…
Optic atrophy (optical neuropathy) is a partial or complete destruction of nerve fibers that transmit visual stimuli from the retina to the brain. Atrophy of the optic nerve leads to a decrease or complete loss of vision, narrowing of the visual fields, impaired color vision, paleness of OND. The diagnosis is made when identifying characteristic…
Eyeball atrophy is a condition in which the eyeball is deformed and reduced in size with a significant decrease in visual functions. The main causes of the development of atrophy of the eye are severe injuries of the visual organ, prolonged inflammation, retinal detachment. Symptomatically, atrophy of the eyeball is manifested by a lack of…
Astigmatism is a violation of refraction caused by an irregular, non-spherical shape of the cornea or lens, which leads to the scattering of light rays and the formation of a distorted image on the retina. Disease over 1 dpt is manifested by visual impairment, blurry blurry vision of objects, headache, rapid fatigue with visual loads,…
Asthenopia is a functional visual disorder that is accompanied by increased fatigue when performing visual work. It is clinically manifested by a burning sensation, pain, hyperemia, the appearance of fog in front of the eyes, a feeling of sand, as well as a decrease in visual acuity that develop after intense or prolonged visual work.…
Anophthalmos is an ophthalmopathology characterized by the absence of an eyeball in the orbit. Clinical manifestations of the disease are irreversible loss of visual functions on the side of the lesion, narrowing of the boundaries of the visual field, violation of spatial perception and rapid fatigue when performing visual work with a healthy eye. Diagnostics…
Color vision abnormalities are a complex of pathologies of congenital or acquired genesis, including achromatopsia, color blindness and acquired color vision deficiency. Clinical symptoms are represented by impaired color perception, decreased visual acuity, and nystagmus. Electroretinography, anomaloscopy, Rabkin tables, Ishihara test and FALANT are used to diagnose color vision anomalies. The main principle of treatment…
Lens anomalies are malformations, less often acquired pathologies in which the ability to accommodate, light transmission or light refraction is impaired. Common symptoms for most forms are impaired visual functions, the appearance of “fog” or “shroud” in front of the eyes. Diagnostics includes external examination, biomicroscopy, gonioscopy, visometry, ultrasound in In-mode, OCT. Treatment tactics depend…
Refractive errors are a group of diseases in ophthalmology in which a decrease in visual acuity is caused by a violation of the focus of the image on the retina. Common symptoms for all pathologies: blurred vision, rapid eye fatigue when performing visual work, discomfort or headache with eye strain. Visometry, refractometry, ophthalmoscopy, eye ultrasound,…
Ankyloblepharone is a pathology of the organ of vision, in which there is a complete or partial fusion of the edges of the eyelids. It is manifested by the presence of adhesions in the form of scars or cords between the upper and lower eyelid, narrowing or absence of an eye slit. Ankyloblepharone is diagnosed…
