The eye exam

Visual acuity, visual fields, slit lamp, tonometry, fluorescein, motility, red reflex, fundus exam and imaging.

16 pages

• Colour vision testingColour plates screen for inherited red-green deficiency
• Contrast sensitivity and glare testingSome people read the chart well but see poorly in fog, at dusk or into headlights
• Corneal topography, tomography and specular microscopyTopography maps the shape of the cornea; specular microscopy counts its inner cells
• Dilated fundus examination: when and howThrough an undilated pupil the ophthalmoscope shows little more than the disc
• Everting the eyelidTurning the upper lid inside out takes seconds and finds hidden foreign bodies, lime particles…
• Eye movements and the cover testThe corneal light reflex, the cover tests and the nine positions of gaze show whether the eyes…
• Fluorescein staining and the Seidel testFluorescein glows green under blue light where the corneal surface is broken
• Gonioscopy: looking into the drainage angleA mirrored contact lens shows the drainage angle, which cannot be seen directly
• OCT, fundus photography and angiographyOCT gives a cross-section of the retina, photographs screen and document it, and angiography…
• Ocular ultrasound and point-of-care scanningWhen blood or cataract hides the retina, ultrasound through the closed lid shows detachment…
• The red reflex testShining an ophthalmoscope into both pupils from arm's length shows two matching red glows
• The slit lamp: what each light showsThe slit lamp is a microscope with an adjustable slit of light
• Tonometry: measuring intraocular pressureTonometry measures the pressure inside the eye
• Visual acuity: Snellen, logMAR and pinholeVisual acuity is the vital sign of the eye: each eye is measured separately, with glasses, and…
• Visual electrophysiology: ERG, EOG and VEPThese tests record the electrical signals of the retina and visual pathway
• Visual fields: confrontation, Amsler grid and perimetryConfrontation finds large field defects at the bedside, the Amsler grid finds central…

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← Ophthalmology for the general doctor

Educational content; not a clinical guideline and no substitute for assessment by a health professional. For sudden visual loss, severe eye pain, a chemical burn or an eye injury, go to an emergency department at once.

Representative model, for educational purposes only.