An eye exam consists of much more than just determination of a glasses or contact lens prescription. Did you know that the back of the eye is the only place in the body that one can directly view blood vessels? By focusing light through the pupil onto the retina -- the tissue that lines the back of the eye - eye doctors can screen for many systemic diseases. This means that common health conditions, such as high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure are often first detected at an eye exam. Additionally, photos taken of the retina can be used to document findings and monitor for changes in years to come.
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| A healthy retina. The yellow circle to the right of center is the optic nerve, which connects the eye to the brain. Arteries (light red) and veins (darker red) course the back of the eye. The darker area left to the center of the photo is the macula. This provides our central vision, and is what is affected in diseases like macular degeneration. |
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