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Marin Eye Care: Glossary

Glossary

Ablate - in surgery, is to remove.

Ablation zone - the area of tissue that is removed during laser surgery.

Accommodation - the ability of the eye to change its focus from distant objects to near objects.

Acuity clearness - or sharpness of vision Search Google For acuity...

Astigmatism - a distortion of the image on the retina caused by irregularities in the cornea or lens. Search Google for astigmatism...

Diopter - the measurement of refractive error. A negative diopter value signifies an eye with myopia and positive diopter value signifies an eye with hyperopia. Search Google for diopter...

Dry Eye Syndrome - a common condition that occurs when the eyes do not produce enough tears to keep the eye moist and comfortable. Common symptoms of dry eye include pain, stinging, burning, scratchiness, and intermittent blurring of vision. Search Google for dry eye syndrome...

Excimer laser - an ultraviolet laser used in refractive surgery to remove corneal tissue.

Farsightedness - the common term for hyperopia.

FDA - the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. It is the United States governmental agency responsible for the evaluation and approval of medical devices.

Flap & Zap - a slang term for LASIK.

Ghost Image - a fainter second image of the object you are viewing.

Glare - scatter from bright light that decreases vision.

Halos - are rings around lights due to optical imperfections in or in front of the eye.

Haze - corneal clouding that causes the sensation of looking through smoke or fog.

Higher order aberrations - refractive errors, other than nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, that cannot be corrected with glasses or contacts.

Hyperopia - the inability to see near objects as clearly as distant objects, and the need for accommodation to see distant objects clearly.

Inflammation - the body's reaction to trauma, infection, or a foreign substance, often associated with pain, heat, redness, swelling, and/or loss of function.

Informed Consent Form - a document disclosing the risks, benefits, and alternatives to a procedure.

In Situ - a Latin term meaning "in place" or not removed.

Keratectomy - the surgical removal of corneal tissue.

Keratotomy - a surgical incision (cut) of the cornea.

Keratitis - inflammation of the cornea.

Kerato - prefix indicating relationship to the cornea.

Keratoconus - a disorder characterized by an irregular corneal surface (cone-shaped) resulting in blurred and distorted images.

Keratomileusis - carving of the cornea to reshape it.

Laser - the acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. A laser is an instrument that produces a powerful beam of light that can vaporize tissue.

LASIK - the acronym for laser assisted in situ keratomileusis which refers to creating a flap in the cornea with a microkeratome and using a laser to reshape the underlying cornea.

Microkeratome - a surgical device that is affixed to the eye by use of a vacuum ring. When secured, a very sharp blade cuts a layer of the cornea at a predetermined depth.

Monovision - the purposeful adjustment of one eye for near vision and the other eye fordistance vision. It is one clinical technique used to deal with the correction of presbyopia, the gradual loss of the ability of the eye to change focus for close-up tasks that progresses with age. The intent of monovision is for the presbyopic patient to use one eye for distance viewing and one eye for near viewing. This practice was first applied to fit contact lens wearers and more recently to LASIK and other refractive surgeries. With contact lenses, a presbyopic patient has one eye fit with a contact lens to correct distance vision, and the other eye fit with a contact lens to correct near vision.

Myopia - the inability to see distant objects as clearly as near objects.

Nearsightedness - the common term for myopia.

Ophthalmologist - a medical doctor specializing in the diagnosis and medical or surgical treatment of visual disorders and eye disease.

Optician - an expert in the art and science of making and fitting glasses and may also dispense contact lenses.

Optometrist - a primary eye care provider who diagnoses, manages, and treats disorders of the visual system and eye diseases.

Overcorrection - a complication of refractive surgery where the achieved amount of correction is more than desired.

PRK - the acronym for photorefractive keratectomy which is a procedure involving the removal of the surface layer of the cornea (epithelium) by gentle scraping and use of a computer-controlled excimer laser to reshape the stroma.

Presbyopia - is the gradual loss of the ability of the eye to change focus for close-up tasks, and also the inability to maintain a clear image (focus) as objects are moved closer. It is a condition that progresses with age, and is due to reduced elasticity of the lens.

Radial Keratotomy - commonly referred to as RK; a surgical procedure designed to correct myopia (nearsightedness) by flattening the cornea using radial cuts.

Refraction - a test to determine the refractive power of the eye; also, the bending of light as it passes from one medium into another.

Refractive Errors - imperfections in the focusing power of the eye, for example, hyperopia, myopia, and astigmatism.

Refractive Power - the ability of an object, such as the eye, to bend light as light passes through it.

Snellen Visual Acuity Chart - one of many charts used to measure vision.

Undercorrection - a complication of refractive surgery where the achieved amount of correction is less than desired.

Visual Acuity - the clearness of vision; the ability to distinguish details and shapes.

Wavefront - a measure of the total refractive errors of the eye, including nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and other refractive errors that cannot be corrected with glasses or contacts.