Term | Definition |
caratact | opacity of the lens of the eyes, usually occurring as a result of aging, trauma, metabolic disease, or the adverse effect of certain medications or chemicals |
cornea transplant | Keratoplasty.procedure in which a damaged cornea is replaced by the cornea from the eye of a human cadaver |
glaucoma | eye disease in which increased eyeball pressure causes gradual loss of sight |
ocular | pertaining to the eye or sense of sight |
radial keratotomy | surgery to correct myopia or nearsightedness by changing the shape of the cornea |
cornea | transparent part of the eye that covers the iris and pupil |
sleep apnea | condition in which breathing stops for more than ten seconds during sleep |
ophthalmology | study of the eyes (organs of sight) |
otolaryngology | study of ears (organs of hearing). oldest study in the US |
optometrist. optician | specialize in providing corrective lenses for the eyes |
ENT physicians (ear nose throat) | treat sinuses, allergies, sense of smell disorders |
eyes | most important sense organs of body. provide vision |
ears | enable us to hear and balance |
blephr/o | eyelid |
choroid/o | choroid |
conjunctiv/o | conjunctiva |
corne/o | cornea |
cor/o | pupil |
core/o | pupil |
pupill/o | pupil |
dacry/o | tear. lacrimal apparatus (duct, sac, or gland) |
lacrim/o | tear. lacrimal apparatus (duct, sac, or gland) |
dipl/o | double |
irid/o | iris |
kerat/o | horny tissue, hard, cornea |
ocul/o | eye |
ophthalm/o | eye |
opt/o | eye, vision |
retin/o | retina |
acous/o | hearing |
audi/o | hearing |
audit/o | hearing |
myring/o | tympanic membrane (eardrum) |
typan/o | typanic membrane (eardrum) |
ot/o | ear |
salping/o | tube (usually fallopian or eustachian [auditory] tubes) |
-acusis | hearing |
-cusis | hearing |
-opia | vision |
-opsia | vision |
exo- | outside |
hyper- | excessive, above normal |
achromatopsia | color blindness. congenital deficiency in color perception that is more common in men |
astigmatism | refractive disorder in which excessive curvature of the cornea or lens causes light to be scattered over the retina rahter than focused on a single point resulting in a distorted image |
cataract | degenerative disease due to mainly to the against process in which the lens of the eye becomes progressively cloudy, causing decreased vision |
conjunctivitis | pink eye. inflammation of the conjunctiva that can be caused by bacteria, allergy, irritation, or a foreign body |
diabetic retinology | retinal damage marked by aneurysmeal dilation and bleeding of blood vessels for the formation of a new blood vessels causing visual changes in diabetic patients |
hordeolum | sty. small, purulent inflammatory infection of a sebaceous gland of the eyelid |
macular degeneration | breakdown of tissues in the macula resulting in loss of central vision |
photophobia | unusual intolerance and sensitivity to light that occurs in such disorders as meningitis, eye inflammation, measles, and rubella |
retinal detachment | separation of the retina from the choroid which disrupts vision and results in blindness if not repaired |
strabismus | muscular eye disorder in which the eyes turn from the normal position so they deviate in different directions |
estropia | cross-eye. convergent strabismus. strabismus in which these is deviation of the visual axis of one eye toward that of the other eye, resulting in diplopia. |
extropia | wall-eye. divergent strabismus. strabismus in which there is deviation of the visual axis of one eye away from that of the other, resulting in diplopia |
hearing loss | loss of the sense or perception of sound |
anacusis | total deafness (complete loss of hearing) |
conductive | results from any condition that prevents sound waves from being transmitted to the auditory receptors |
presbycusis | impairment of hearing that results form the aging process |
sensorineural | nerve deafness. inability of nerve stimuli to be delivered to the brain from the inner ear due to damage to the auditory (acoustic) nerve or cochlea |
meniere disease | rare disorder characterized by progressive deafness, vertigo, and tinnitus, possibly due to swelling of membraneous structures within the labyrith |
otitis media OM | inflammation of the middle ear, which is commonly the result of an upper respiratory infection URI and may be treated with tympanostomy tube insertion |
otosclerosis | progressive deafness due to ossification in the bony labyrinth of the inner ear |
tinnitus | ringing or tinkling noise heard constantly or intermittently in one or both ears, even in a quiet environment. results from damage to inner ear structures associated with hearing |
vertigo | sensation of moving around in space or a feeling of spinning or dizziness that usually results from inner ear structure damage associated with balance and equilibrium |
tonometry | screening test to detect glaucoma that measures intraocular pressure and to determine if its elevated |
visual acuity test | standard eye examination to determine the smallest letters a person can read on a Snellen chart, or E chart, or at a distance of 20 feet |
audiometry | test that measures hearing acuity at various sound frequencies |
otoscopy | visual examination of the external auditory canal and the tympanic membrane using an otoscope |
tuning fork test | hearing test that uses a tuning fork (instrument that produces a constant pitch when struck) that is struck and then placed against or near the bones on the side of the head to assess nerve and bone conduction of sound |
rinne | evaluates bone conduction of sound in one ear at a time |
weber | evaluates bone conduction of sound in both ears at the same time |
cataract surgery | excision of a lens affects by a cataract |
phacoemulsification | small incision cataract surgery. excision of the lens by ultrasonic vibrations that break the lens into tiny particles, which are suctioned out of the eye. |
iridectomy | excision of a portion of the iris used to relieve intraocular presure in patients with glaucoma |
laser iridotomy | laser surgery that creates an opening on the rim of the iris to allow aqueous humor to flow between the antieror and posterior chambers to relieve IOP that occurs as a result of glaucoma and is replacing iridectomy because it is a safer procedure |
laser photocoagulation | use of a laser beam to seal leaking or hemorrhaging retinal blood vessels used in treatment of diabetic retinopathy |
cochlear implant | electronic transmitter surgically implanted into the cochlea of a deaf person to restore healing |
myringoplasty | tympanoplasty. surgical repair of a perforated eardrum with a tissue graft to correct hearing loss |
myringotomy | incision of the typanic membrane (eardrum) to relieve pressure and drain fluid from the middle ear or to insert tympanostomy tubes in the eardrum via surgery |
antiglaucoma drugs | reduce intraocular pressure by lowering the amount of aqueous humor in the eyeball, reducing its production or increasing its outflow |
miotics | cause the pupil to constrict. treat glaucoma |
mydriatics | cause the pupil to dilate and prepare the eye for an internal examination |
vertigo and motion sickness drugs | decrease sensitivity of the inner ear to motion and prevent nerve impulses from the inner ear from reaching the vomiting center of the brain |
wax emulsifiers | loosen and help remove impacted cerumen (ear wax) |
glaucoma | aqueous humor fails to drain and accumulates in the anterior chamber of the eye, causing elevated intraocular pressure IOP |
intraocular pressure IOP | leads to degeneration and atrophy of the retina and optic nerve |
optic angle glaucoma | most common form of glaucoma. results from degenerative changes that cause congestion and reduce flow of aqueous humor through the canal of Schlemm. it is painless, but it destroys peripheral vision, causing tunnel vision |
closed angle glaucoma | emergency. caused by anatomically narrow angle between the iris and the cornea, prevents outflow of aqueous humor from the eye into the lymphatic system, causes sudden increase in IOP. symptoms: sever pain, blurred vision, photophobia. leads to blindness |
tympanostomy | ear tubes or pressure-equalizing PE tubes. plastic cylinders surgically inserted into the eardrum to drain fluid and equalize pressure between the middle and outer ear. used on children whose ears are nonrespondant to normal treatments. under anesthesia |
myringotomy | small opening is made in the eardrum, followed by tube insertion |