Angle Recession Glaucoma Glossary of Terms

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Abnormal: Not normal. Deviating from the usual structure, position, condition, or behavior. In referring to a growth, abnormal may mean that it is cancerous or premalignant (likely to become cancer).

Anterior: The front, as opposed to the posterior. The anterior surface of the heart is toward the breast bone (the sternum).
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Anterior chamber: The space in the eye that is behind the cornea and in front of the iris.
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Aqueous humor: In medicine, humor refers to a fluid (or semifluid) substance. Thus, the aqueous humor is the fluid normally present in the front and rear chambers of the eye. It is a clear, watery fluid that flows between and nourishes the lens and the cornea; it is secreted by the ciliary processes.
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Argon laser: A laser with ionized argon as the active medium. Argon lasers are used for photocoagulation in ophthalmology.

Asymptomatic: Without symptoms. For example, an asymptomatic infection is an infection with no symptoms.

Bleb: A bladder-like structure more than 5 mm in diameter with thin walls that may be full of fluid. Also called a bulla.

Blindness: Loss of useful sight. Blindness can be temporary or permanent. Damage to any portion of the eye, the optic nerve, or the area of the brain responsible for vision can lead to blindness. There are numerous (actually, innumerable) causes of blindness. The current politically correct terms for blindness include visually handicapped and visually challenged.

Choroid: In the eye, a thin vascular layer between the sclera and the retina. The choroid supplies blood to the retina and conducts arteries and nerves to other structures in the eye.

Chronic: This important term in medicine comes from the Greek chronos, time and means lasting a long time.
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Conjunctiva: A thin clear moist membrane that coats the inner surfaces of the eyelids and the outer surface of the eye.
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Contrast: Short for "contrast media." Contrast media are X-ray dyes used to provide contrast, for example, between blood vessels and other tissue.

Contusion: Another name for a bruise. What is a bruise ? A bruise, or contusion, is caused when blood vessels are damaged or broken as the result of a blow to the skin (be it bumping against something or hitting yourself with a hammer). The raised area of a bump or bruise results from blood leaking from these injured blood vessels into the tissues as well as from the body's response to the injury. A purplish, flat bruise that occurs when blood leaks out into the top layers of skin is referred to as an ecchymosis.

Cornea: The clear front window of the eye that transmits and focuses light into the eye.
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Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A conclusion or decision reached by diagnosis. The diagnosis is rabies. 3 The identification of any problem. The diagnosis was a plugged IV.
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Dilation: The process of enlargement, stretching, or expansion. The word "dilatation" means the same thing. Both come from the Latin "dilatare" meaning "to enlarge or expand."

Disc: Shortened terminology for an intervertebral disc, a disk-shaped piece of specialized tissue that separates the bones of the spinal column.
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Drain: A device for removing fluid from a cavity or wound. A drain is typically a tube or wick. As a verb, to allow fluid to be released from a confined area.

Emergency department: The department of a hospital responsible for the provision of medical and surgical care to patients arriving at the hospital in need of immediate care. Emergency department personnel may also respond to certain situations within the hospital such cardiac arrests.
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Fiber: The parts of plants that cannot be digested, namely complex carbohydrates. Also known as bulk or roughage.
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Fundus: Latin word for the bottom. In medicine, fundus refers to the bottom or base of an organ.
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Glaucoma: A common eye condition in which the fluid pressure inside the eyes rises because of slowed fluid drainage from the eye. If untreated, it may damage the optic nerve and other parts of the eye, causing the loss of vision or even blindness.
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Humor: In medicine, humor refers to a fluid (or semifluid) substance. Thus, the aqueous humor is the fluid normally present in the front and rear chambers of the eye. The humors ran through an ancient theory that held that health came from balance between the bodily liquids. These liquids were termed humors. Disease arose when there was imbalance between these humors.
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Implant: 1. To embed; to set in firmly. In embryology, the fertilized egg implants in the uterine lining 6 or 7 days after conception (fertilization). In medicine today, many things may be implanted.
2. That which is embedded. For example: lens implants, breast implants, cochlear implants, defibrillator implants, pacemaker implants, etc.

Incidence: The frequency with which something, such as a disease, appears in a particular population or area. In disease epidemiology, the incidence is the number of newly diagnosed cases during a specific time period. The incidence is distinct from the prevalence which refers to the number of cases alive on a certain date.

Indicate: In medicine, to make a treatment or procedure advisable because of a particular condition or circumstance. For example, certain medications are indicated for the treatment of hypertension during pregnancy while others are contraindicated.

Injury: Harm or hurt. The term "injury" may be applied in medicine to damage inflicted upon oneself as in a hamstring injury or by an external agent on as in a cold injury. The injury may be accidental or deliberate, as with a needlestick injury. The term "injury" may be synonymous (depending on the context) with a wound or with trauma.

Intervention: The act of intervening, interfering or interceding with the intent of modifying the outcome. In medicine, an intervention is usually undertaken to help treat or cure a condition. For example, early intervention may help children with autism to speak. "Acupuncture as a therapeutic intervention is widely practiced in the United States," according to the National Institutes of Health. From the Latin intervenire, to come between.

Intraocular: In the eye. The intraocular pressure is the pressure within the eye.

Intraocular pressure: The pressure created by the continual renewal of fluids within the eye. The intraocular pressure is increased in glaucoma.
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Iris: The iris is the circular, colored curtain of the eye. Its opening forms the pupil. The iris helps regulate the amount of light that enters the eye.
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Laser: A powerful beam of light that can produce intense heat when focused at close range. Lasers are used in medicine in microsurgery, cauterization, for diagnostic purposes, etc. For example, lasers are employed in microsurgery to cut tissue and remove tissue.
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Laser surgery: A type of surgery that uses the cutting power of a laser beam to make bloodless cuts in tissue or remove a surface lesion such as a skin tumor. There are a number of different types of lasers that differ in emitted light wavelengths and power ranges and in their ability to clot, cut, or vaporize tissue. Among the commonly used lasers are the pulsed-dye laser, the YAG laser, the CO2 (carbon dioxide) laser, the argon laser, the excimer laser, the KTP laser, and the diode laser.

Lens: The transparent structure inside the eye that focuses light rays onto the retina (the nerve layer that lines the back of the eye, senses light and creates impulses that go through the optic nerve to the brain). The lens was named after the lentil bean because it resembled it in shape and size.
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Motor: In medicine, having to do with the movement of a part of the body. Something that produces motion or refers to motion. For example, a motor neuron is a nerve cell that conveys an impulse to a muscle causing it to contract. The term "motor" today is also applied to a nerve that signals a gland to secrete. Motor is as opposed to sensory.

Nerve: A bundle of fibers that uses chemical and electrical signals to transmit sensory and motor information from one body part to another. See: Nervous system.

Ocular: Having to do with the eye.
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Onset: In medicine, the first appearance of the signs or symptoms of an illness as, for example, the onset of rheumatoid arthritis. There is always an onset to a disease but never to the return to good health. The default setting is good health.
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Open-angle glaucoma: Glaucoma in which the aqueous (fluid) that flows through the pupil into the anterior (front) chamber of the eye cannot get through a filtration system called the trabecular meshwork into the drainage canals, causing pressure to build up within the eye which can damage the optic nerve and impair vision.
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Operating room: A facility equipped for performing surgery. Abbreviated OR.

Ophthalmologist: An eye doctor. A physician practicing ophthalmology. An ophthalmologist is an M.D.

Ophthalmology: The art and science of eye medicine.

Optic: Having to do with vision.

Optic disc: The circular area in the back of the inside of the eye where the optic nerve connects to the retina. Also called the optic nerve head.

Optic nerve: The optic nerve connects the eye to the brain. The optic nerve carries the impulses formed by the retina, the nerve layer that lines the back of the eye and senses light and creates impulses. These impulses are dispatched through the optic nerve to the brain, which interprets them as images. Using an ophthalmoscope, the head of the optic nerve can be easily seen. It can be viewed as the only visible part of the brain (or extension of it).
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Pediatric: Pertaining to children.

Peripheral: Situated away from the center, as opposed to centrally located.
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Peripheral vision: Side vision. The ability to see objects and movement outside of the direct line of vision. Peripheral vision is the work of the rods, nerve cells located largely outside the macula (the center) of the retina. The rods are also responsible for night vision and low-light vision but are insensitive to color. As opposed to central vision.

Pharmacy: A location where prescription drugs are sold. A pharmacy is, by law, constantly supervised by a licensed pharmacist.

Posterior: The back or behind, as opposed to the anterior.
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Prevalence: The proportion of individuals in a population having a disease. Prevalence is a statistical concept referring to the number of cases of a disease that are present in a particular population at a given time.

Prognosis: 1. The expected course of a disease.
2. The patient's chance of recovery.
The prognosis predicts the outcome of a disease and therefore the future for the patient. His prognosis is grim, for example, while hers is good.
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Progressive: Increasing in scope or severity. Advancing. Going forward. In medicine, a disease that is progressive is going from bad to worse.

Prostaglandin: One of a number of hormone-like substances that participate in a wide range of body functions such as the contraction and relaxation of smooth muscle, the dilation and constriction of blood vessels, control of blood pressure, and modulation of inflammation. Prostaglandins are derived from a chemical called arachidonic acid.

Retina: The retina is the nerve layer that lines the back of the eye, senses light, and creates impulses that travel through the optic nerve to the brain. There is a small area, called the macula, in the retina that contains special light-sensitive cells. The macula allows us to see fine details clearly.
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Rule out: A term much used in medicine, meaning to eliminate or exclude something from consideration. The ACB (albumin cobalt binding) test helps rule out a heart attack in the differential diagnosis of severe chest pain.

Shunt: 1) To move a body fluid, such as cerebrospinal fluid, from one place to another. 2) A catheter (tube) that carries cerebrospinal fluid from a ventricle in the brain to another area of the body. A shunt may be placed to relieve pressure from hydrocephalus, for example.

Substance: 1. Material with particular features, as a pressor substance.
2. The material that makes up an organ or structure. Also known in medicine as the substantia.
3. A psychoactive drug as, for example, in substance abuse.

Surgery: The word "surgery" has multiple meanings. It is the branch of medicine concerned with diseases and conditions which require or are amenable to operative procedures. Surgery is the work done by a surgeon. By analogy, the work of an editor wielding his pen as a scalpel is s form of surgery. A surgery in England (and some other countries) is a physician's or dentist's office.
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Therapy: The treatment of disease.
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Tonometry: A standard eye test that determines the fluid pressure inside the eye. Increased pressure is a possible sign of glaucoma, a common and potentially very serious eye problem if not detected and treated promptly. It is recommended that adults over age 40 have tonometry for glaucoma every 3 to 5 years by having their eye pressures measured.
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Trauma: Any injury, whether physically or emotionally inflicted. "Trauma" has both a medical and a psychiatric definition. Medically, "trauma" refers to a serious or critical bodily injury, wound, or shock. This definition is often associated with trauma medicine practiced in emergency rooms and represents a popular view of the term. In psychiatry, "trauma" has assumed a different meaning and refers to an experience that is emotionally painful, distressful, or shocking, which often results in lasting mental and physical effects.
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Ultrasound: High-frequency sound waves. Ultrasound waves can be bounced off of tissues using special devices. The echoes are then converted into a picture called a sonogram. Ultrasound imaging, referred to as ultrasonography, allows physicians and patients to get an inside view of soft tissues and body cavities, without using invasive techniques. Ultrasound is often used to examine a fetus during pregnancy. There is no convincing evidence for any danger from ultrasound during pregnancy.

Visual acuity: The clarity or clearness of the vision, a measure of how well a person sees. The ability to distinguish details and shapes of objects; also called central vision.
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Visual field: The entire area that can be seen when the eye is directed forward, including that which is seen with peripheral vision.
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Vitreous: A clear, jelly-like substance that fills the middle of the eye. Also called the vitreous humor, "humor" in medicine referring to a fluid (or semifluid) substance.