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Definitions
Introduction
An ocular disease is any health complication in the human eye. Many factors can
cause abnormal eye function, including preexisting health problems such as high
blood pressure or diabetes. This assignment aims to describe the eye condition
glaucoma to individuals with no prior understanding of ocular diseases.
The hypothetical scenario involves a patient who walks into an eye clinic and
expresses his/her concern about glaucoma. The objective is to use three different
definitions (parenthetical, sentence and expanded) to help explain the ocular
condition of glaucoma to the targeted audience (nontechnical reader with no
information on eye diseases).
Glaucoma
Parenthetical definition: This patient has a family history of glaucoma (eye disease
related to the optic nerve).
Sentence definition:
Glaucoma is an ocular disease that arises when a buildup of pressure inside the eye
causes damage to the optic nerve, which may result in a loss of vision.
Expanded definition:
How did its name originate?
Many scholars believe that the word glaucoma originated in Greece around 400 BC
to express “dimming vision”. However, other scholars suggest it may come from the
Latin word glauca, which means “bluish green or gray” (Realini, 2011).
How does it work?
An optic disc is where all the ganglion cells exit the eye to form the optic nerve
(Quigley, 2011). Individuals with normal vision have a well functioning and averagesized optic disc. By contrast, patients with glaucoma have dying ganglion cells and a
loss of axons, resulting in a larger disc size (Quigley, 2011). Ganglion cells are a
type of neuron the fiber that surrounds it is called the axon (Quigley, 2011)
What does it look like?
Image A – normal conditions
Image B – glaucoma
Notice the change in color in panel B compared to panel A
Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment
Symptoms
A common symptom of glaucoma is high intraocular pressure. However, this can
only be detected at an optometry clinic. Another warning sign is gradual vision loss,
but other than the two mentioned symptoms there are no other changes or
discomfort that can be noticed by a patient (Quigley, 2011).
Diagnosis
An optometrist can diagnose glaucoma by measuring the intraocular pressure,
conducting a visual field test, and assessing the optic nerve disc (Quigley, 2011).
Treatment
Depending on the severity of one’s glaucoma diagnosis, the optometrist may be able
to provide treatment. In the early stages, eye drops are often prescribed to lower the
intraocular pressure (Quigley, 2011). In the later stages of the disease, laser
treatments may be used to increase the fluid movement, which in turn promotes a
decrease in intraocular pressure (Quigley, 2011). However, there is currently no
treatment to help restore a patient’s vision once the disease has progressed to the
point of vision loss (Quigley, 2011).
How does glaucoma resemble or differ from another ocular disease?
It is not uncommon for people to confuse the meanings of cataracts and glaucoma.
The difference is that glaucoma is the result of damage to the optic nerve caused by
increased pressure in the eye, whereas cataracts involve the fogging up of the
lenses (Haeck et al., 2011). Surgery can help restore the vision of a patient
diagnosed with cataracts, whereas vision loss cause by glaucoma is irreversible
(Quigley, 2011).
WORK CITED
Haeck, I. M., Rouwen, T. J., Timmer-de Mik, L., de Bruin-Weller, M. S., & BruijnzeelKoomen, C. A. (2011). Topical corticosteroids in atopic dermatitis and the risk of
glaucoma and cataracts. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 64(2),
275-281. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2010.01.035
Quigley, H. A. (2011). Glaucoma. The Lancet, 377(9774), 1367-1377.
doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61423-7
Realini, T. (2011). A history of glaucoma pharmacology. Optometry and Vision
Science : Official Publication of the American Academy of Optometry, 88(1), 36-38.
doi:10.1097/OPX.0b013e3182058ead