Anatomy of the Eye

Series Summary

Worldwide, glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness, but it often sneaks up on patients as visual fields gradually decrease over many years. Glaucoma is actually a group of diseases of the optic nerve that results in the loss of retinal ganglion cells causing optic neuropathy. Risk factors for glaucoma include ocular hypertension, diabetes, being of African descent, high age, thin corneal thickness and a family history of the disease. Treatments for glaucoma often include medicated eye drops and minimizing side effects. Living with glaucoma can be difficult, but many people find comfort in learning valuable information on symptoms and treatments. In this free eye health video series, an experienced optometrist offers information on signs, symptoms and treatment options for glaucoma. Get tips on how glaucoma is diagnosed and how to make living with glaucoma easier. Being diagnosed with glaucoma can be difficult to cope with but the right information and options may put a person at ease.

Video Transcript

"O.k, well, before we start talking about glaucoma, let's review kind of the basics of how the eye works. So, the eye has got these few really important components. So, on the front surface here we have the cornea, and so when light passes into your eye when you're looking, when you're seeing an object, the light's passing through the cornea, then through this structure here, the pupil, which is that black hold in the center of your eye. And, the pupil is a hole that light's passing through, so then the light passes through there, it goes through this structure behind the pupil called the lens, then it goes through the lens, through this cavity here, and then the light lands back here in the back of the eye, in the area called the retina, in a specific part of the retina called the macula and then once the light lands there, the retina and the macula, they have lots of nerve fibers and those nerve fibers take that signal of light, and transfer it here to the nerve, and then the nerve sends a signal back to the brain, and that's how you understand that you're seeing something. So, in general, what your, what's happening is that the light is passing through the cornea, through the pupil, through the lens, through this cavity, lands in the back of the eye, sends a signal to the nerve, and then the nerve sends a signal to the brain that lets you know that you're seeing the light. So, that's really important to understand, because when we start talking about glaucoma, we're going to talk a little bit about the nerve and it's importance, you know how the nerve functions when we talk about seeing."