InterActive Medical Terminology

Based on the best selling text: An Introduction to Medical Terminology for Health Care (Fifth edition) by A.R.Hutton published by Elsevier Ltd

Unit 9: The Eye

The interactive learning material in this unit is arranged into five sections. Click or tap on a section and scroll down the page completing the exercises in the sequence they are presented:

• Section 1: Introduction
• Section 2: The eye viewed from the front
• Section 3: The Lacrimal Apparatus
• Section 4: The Internal Components of the Eye
• Section 5: Self Assessment
  

Note: FlashCards for revision of this unit are at the end of Section 4.

A short list of abbreviations, pathological conditions, clinical procedures and laboratory tests associated with the eye is available from the:Word Check

Section 1: Introduction

The eye is the organ for our primary sense, that of sight. Light enters the eye through the pupil and transparent cornea, it passes through the lens and is focused onto the light sensitive retina. In the retina light stimulates receptors that generate nerve impulses in sensory neurons; these impulses travel in the optic nerve to areas of the brain concerned with vision. In the visual cortex of the brain, the impulses are interpreted as an image.

Section 2: The eye viewed from the front

First look at the position of the external, visible components of the eye:

Anatomy Exercise 1

The medical specialty that deals with diseases and disorders of the eyes is called ophthalmology. Patients with serious problems are referred to a consultant ophthalmologist (-logist - a specialist who studies). Be careful with the spelling of the root ophthalm, make sure you you have inserted two letters "h".