Universidad de El Salvador

Facultad de Medicina
Technical English for Optometry. Semester II-2022
Teacher: Lic. Eldy Yanira Pacheco

This is a listing of many of the terms used in “Anatomy, Physiology & Pathology of the
Human Eye,” https://www.tedmontgomery.com/the_eye/
1. amblyopia
“lazy eye”; inability of an eye to achieve its best expected visual acuity with no observable
pathology or reason for the decrease in acuity; most often due to eccentric fixation in an eye
with strabismus
2. ametropia
a refractive error (such as myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism) in which images fail to focus upon
the retina, requiring spectacle lenses or contact lenses to refocus the incoming light onto the retina
3. aniridia
congenital or traumatically induced absence or defect of the iris
4. anisocoria
inequality in the size of the pupils of the eyes, often from injury or disease
5. anisometropia
a difference in refractive error between the two eyes
6. astigmatism
a defect of an ocular structure (most commonly the cornea or the crystalline lens) causing rays from
a point to fail to meet in a single focal point, resulting in an imperfect blurred or smeared image; an
unequal refractive error in the meridians of one eye
7. blepharitis
inflammation, redness, burning, and itching of the eyelids, most commonly in adults, that can be
associated with a low grade bacterial infection (staphylococcal blepharitis) or a generalized skin
condition (seborrheic blepharitis); caused by abnormalities in oil gland function and an alteration in
bacterial colonies that normally live on the skin; treated by gentle scrubbing of the eyelid margins
with baby shampoo diluted with water, warm compresses several minutes a day, and sometimes an
antibiotic ointment or drop
8. blindness
transient or permanent inability to see with one or both eyes
9. cataract, primary
a clouding of the crystalline lens of the eye or its surrounding transparent membrane that hinders
or obstructs the passage of light through the lens, resulting in blurry, hazy, or distorted vision
10. cataract, secondary
a clouding of the posterior capsule of the crystalline lens of the eye, following primary cataract
extraction, alleviated by penetration with a YAG laser
Universidad de El Salvador
Facultad de Medicina
Technical English for Optometry. Semester II-2022
Teacher: Lic. Eldy Yanira Pacheco
11. chalazion
a small circumscribed tumor of the eyelid formed by retention of Meibomian gland secretions (oil)
and sometimes accompanied by inflammation; removed through an incision made in the posterior
portion of the affected eyelid
12. chorioretinitis
inflammation of the choroid and retina of the eye
13. conjunctivitis
“pink eye”; infection and inflammation of the conjunctiva, usually from an allergy, a virus, or a
bacterium
14. cyclitis
inflammation of the ciliary body
15. dellen
a small, indented region of the corneal surface resulting from constant dryness, usually due to the
inability of the eye lid to make contact with that area of the cornea while blinking
16. detachment, retinal (RD)
separation of the retina from the choroid beneath it, often initiated by a retinal tear resulting in the
seepage of vitreous fluid underneath the retina; can be associated with the observation of a shower
of floaters, flashes of light, and/or a “web” or “veil” in front of the eye or in the periphery; usually
treated with a laser, freezing (“cryotherapy” or “cryopexy"), or a scleral buckle
17. deuteranomaly
a type of anomalous trichromatism color deficiency in which there is a partial loss of green color
vision, so that an increased intensity of this color is required in a mixture of red and green to match
a given yellow
18. deuteranopia
a type of anomalous dichromatism color deficiency marked by confusion of purplish red and green,
due to a lack of (or lack of function of) “M-cone” photoreceptors sensitive to medium (greenish)
wavelengths of light
19. diplopia
double vision, usually caused by a strabismus
20. emmetropia
no refractive error, where light coming from a distant object and entering the eye focuses upon the
retina while the crystalline lens in its most relaxed (thinnest) state
21. episcleritis
an inflammation (usually localized) of the episclera, a thin layer of tissue covering the sclera and
containing many blood vessels that nourish the sclera; cause is unknown, but can be associated
Universidad de El Salvador
Facultad de Medicina
Technical English for Optometry. Semester II-2022
Teacher: Lic. Eldy Yanira Pacheco
with certain diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren’s syndrome, syphilis, herpes zoster, and
tuberculosis
22. exotropia
a strabismus where the deviating eye turns outward (away from the nose), as compared to the
other eye which remains pointing straight ahead.
23. glaucoma
a progressive optic neuropathy (a disease of the optic nerve) characterized by a specific pattern of
retinal ganglion cell, axon, and optic nerve damage, resulting in a reduction in the visual field
(beginning in the periphery and gradually moving inward) and even blindness; most significant risk
factor is elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), which results from less fluid leaving the eye than is
entering the eye.
24. hyperopia
farsightedness, hypermetropia; a condition in which visual images come to a focus behind the
retina of the eye and vision is better for distant than for near objects; may be due to the surface(s)
of the cornea and/or crystalline lens having reduced (too flat) curvature, an eyeball which is too
short, and/or an index of refraction of one of the ocular media that is too low
25. hypertropia
a strabismus where the deviating eye turns upward, as compared to the other eye which remains
pointing straight ahead
26. hypotropia
a strabismus where the deviating eye turns downward, as compared to the other eye which
remains pointing straight ahead.
27. ischemic optic neuropathy
“Ischemic optic neuropathy” is a severely blinding disease resulting from loss of the arterial blood
supply to the optic nerve (usually in one eye), as a result of occlusive disorders of the nutrient
arteries.
28. iridocyclitis
inflammation of the iris and the ciliary body
29. iris bombe
a condition in which the iris is bowed forward by an accumulation of fluid between the iris and the
crystalline lens
30. iritis
inflammation of the iris; can be caused by systemic diseases (such as rheumatoid arthritis),
systemic infections (such as measles, syphilis, and tuberculosis), trauma, or idiopathic (unknown)
sources
Universidad de El Salvador
Facultad de Medicina
Technical English for Optometry. Semester II-2022
Teacher: Lic. Eldy Yanira Pacheco
31. keratitis
inflammation of the cornea; includes keratitis sicca, interstitial keratitis, dendritic (branching)
keratitis, rosacea keratitis, and neuroparalytic keratitis
32. keratoconjunctivitis sicca
a condition associated with reduction in lacrimal secretion and marked by redness of the
conjunctiva, itching and burning of the eye, and often filaments of desquamated epithelial cells
adhering to the cornea
33. keratoconus
progressive thinning of the central cornea, resulting in a bulging outward and the formation of a
rounded cone; produces moderate to severe corneal distortion and increase in myopia; can cause
corneal scarring, requiring corneal transplantation to restore vision
34. myopia
nearsightedness; a condition in which visual images come to a focus in front of the retina of the eye
and vision is better for near than for far objects; may be due to the surface(s) of the cornea and/or
crystalline lens having excessive (too steep) curvature, an eyeball which is too long, and/or an index
of refraction of one of the ocular media that is too high
35. presbyopia
a visual condition which becomes apparent most often during the age span 40 to 45 in which loss of
elasticity of the crystalline lens causes reduced accommodation and the inability to focus sharply at
a near distance.
36. papilledema
“Papilledema” is edema or swelling of the optic disc (papilla), most commonly due to an increase in
intracranial pressure (often from a tumor), malignant hypertension, or thrombosis of the central
retinal vein. The condition usually is bilateral, the nerve head is very elevated and swollen, and
pupil response typically is normal.
37. strabismus
heterotropia or tropia; inability to attain or maintain binocular vision due to some type of muscle
imbalance in one eye, causing that eye to turn in, out, up, or down relative to the other eye; can be
“intermittent” (occurring sometimes), “constant” (occurring all the time), and/or “alternating”
(occurring sometimes with one eye and sometimes with the other eye, whether intermittently or
constantly)
38. uveitis
inflammation of any or all of the structures contained in the uvea (including the iris, ciliary body,
and choroid)