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Medical Terminology > Eye and Ear Vocab > Flashcards

Eye and Ear Vocab Flashcards

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1
Q

What is biconvex?

A

Consisting of two surfaces that are rounded, elevated, and curved evenly, like part of a sphere. The lens of the eye is a biconvex body.

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2
Q

What is the choroid?

A

Middle, vascular layer of the eye, between the retina and the sclera.

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3
Q

What is the ciliary body?

A

Structure surrounding the lens that connects the iris to the choroid. It contains ciliary muscles, which control the shape of the lens, and it secretes aqueous humor.

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4
Q

What are cones?

A

Photoreceptor cell in the retina that transforms light energy into a nerve impulse. Cones are responsible for color and central vision.

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5
Q

What is the conjunctiva?

A

Delicate membrane lining the eyelids and covering the eyeball up to the cornea.

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6
Q

What is the cornea?

A

Fibrous transparent layer of clear tissue that extends over the anterior portion of the eyeball. Derived from Latin corneus, meaning horny, perhaps because as it protrudes outward, it was thought to resemble a horn.

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7
Q

What is the fovea centralis?

A

Tiny pit or depression in the retina that is the region of clearest vision.

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8
Q

What is the fundus of the eye?

A

Posterior, inner part of the eye; visualized with an ophthalmoscope.

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9
Q

What is the iris?

A

Pigmented (colored) layer that opens and closes to allow more or less light into the eye. The central opening of the iris is the pupil.

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10
Q

What is the lens?

A

Transparent, biconvex body behind the pupil of the eye. It bends (refracts) light rays to bring them into focus on the retina.

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11
Q

What is the macula?

A

Small oval region on the retina near the optic disc; contains the fovea centralis, which is the area of clearest vision.

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12
Q

What is the optic chiasm?

A

Point at which optic nerve fibers cross in the brain (Latin chiasma means crossing).

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13
Q

What is the optic disc?

A

Region at the back of the eye where the optic nerve meets the retina. It is the blind spot of the eye because it contains only nerve fibers, no rods or cones, and is thus insensitive to light.

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14
Q

What is the optic nerve?

A

Cranial nerve carrying impulses from the retina to the brain (cerebral cortex).

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15
Q

What is the pupil?

A

Central opening of the eye, surrounded by the iris, through which light rays pass. It appears dark.

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16
Q

What is refraction?

A

Bending of light rays by the cornea, lens, and fluids of the eye to bring the rays into focus on the retina. Refract means to break (-fract) back (re-).

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17
Q

What is the retina?

A

Light-sensitive nerve cell layer of the eye containing photoreceptor cells (rods and cones).

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18
Q

What is a rod?

A

Photoreceptor cell of the retina essential for vision in low light and for peripheral vision.

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19
Q

What is the sclera?

A

Tough, white outer coat of the eyeball.

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20
Q

What is the thalamus?

A

Relay center of the brain. Optic nerve fibers pass through the thalamus on their way to the cerebral cortex.

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21
Q

What is the vitreous humor?

A

Soft, jelly-like material behind the lens in the vitreous chamber; helps maintain the shape of the eyeball. Often referred to as the vitreous.

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22
Q

What is the auditory canal?

A

Channel that leads from the pinna to the eardrum.

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23
Q

What are auditory nerve fibers?

A

Carry impulses from the inner ear to the brain (cerebral cortex). These fibers compose the vestibulocochlear nerve (cranial nerve VIII).

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24
Q

What is the auditory tube?

A

Channel between the middle ear and the nasopharynx.

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25
What is the auricle?
The protruding part of the external ear, or pinna.
26
What is cerumen?
Waxy substance secreted by the external ear; earwax.
27
What is the cochlea?
Snail shell-shaped, spirally wound tube in the inner ear; contains hearing-sensitive receptor cells.
28
What is endolymph?
Fluid within the labyrinth of the inner ear.
29
What is the eustachian tube?
Auditory tube.
30
What is the incus?
Second ossicle (small bone) of the middle ear; incus means anvil.
31
What is the labyrinth?
Maze-like series of canals of the inner ear. This includes the cochlea, vestibule, and semicircular canals.
32
What is the malleus?
First ossicle of the middle ear; malleus means hammer.
33
What is the organ of Corti?
Sensitive auditory receptor area found in the cochlea of the inner ear.
34
What are ossicles?
Small bone of the ear; includes the malleus, incus, and stapes.
35
What is the oval window?
Membrane between the middle ear and the inner ear.
36
What is perilymph?
Fluid contained in the labyrinth of the inner ear.
37
What is the pinna?
Auricle; flap of the ear.
38
What are semicircular canals?
Passages in the inner ear associated with maintaining equilibrium.
39
What is the stapes?
Third ossicle of the middle ear. Stapes means stirrup.
40
What is the tympanic membrane?
Membrane between the outer and the middle ear; also called the eardrum.
41
What is the vestibule?
Central cavity of the labyrinth, connecting the semicircular canals and the cochlea. The vestibule contains two structures, the saccule and utricle, that help to maintain equilibrium.
42
What is fluorescein angiography?
Intravenous injection of fluorescein (a dye) followed by serial photographs of the retina through dilated pupils. This test provides diagnostic information about blood flow in the retina, detects vascular changes in diabetic and hypertensive retinopathy, and identifies lesions in the macular area of the retina.
43
What is ophthalmoscopy?
Visual examination of the interior of the eye. Ideally, the pupil is dilated and the physician holds the ophthalmoscope close to the patient's eye, shining the light into the back of the eye. Ophthalmologists also may use special lenses in conjunction with a head lamp or a slit lamp.
44
What is optical coherence tomography (OCT)?
Noninvasive imaging technique using light waves to take cross-sectional pictures of the retina. OCT can be used to examine the optic nerve and retina for glaucoma and other retinal diseases.
45
What is slit lamp microscopy?
Examination of anterior ocular structures under microscopic magnification. This procedure provides a magnified view of the conjunctiva, sclera, cornea, anterior chamber, iris, lens, and vitreous.
46
What is visual acuity?
Clarity of vision is assessed using a visual acuity test, often with a Snellen chart.
47
How is visual acuity expressed?
Visual acuity is expressed as a ratio, such as 20/20.
48
What do the numbers in the visual acuity ratio represent?
The first number is the distance the patient is standing from the chart, and the second number is the distance at which a person with normal vision could read the same line.
49
What does a visual acuity of 20/200 indicate?
If the best a patient can see is the 20/200 line, they can see what a 'healthy' eye sees at 200 feet when standing at 20 feet.
50
Why are mirrors used in visual acuity tests?
Mirrors are used so that measurements can be taken at less than 20 feet and still be equivalent to those for vision measured at 20 feet.
51
What does a visual field test measure?
It measures the entire scope of vision, including both peripheral and central vision.
52
What is enucleation?
Removal of the entire eyeball. ## Footnote This surgical procedure is necessary to treat tumors such as ocular melanoma or if an eye has become blind and painful from trauma or disease, such as glaucoma.
53
What is keratoplasty?
Surgical repair of the cornea. ## Footnote Also known as a corneal transplant procedure (penetrating keratoplasty). The ophthalmic surgeon removes the patient's scarred or opaque cornea and replaces it with a donor cornea ('button' or graft), which is sutured into place.
54
What are newer procedures in keratoplasty?
Newer procedures involve transplanting only partial thickness layers of the cornea when the eye has less damage. ## Footnote Endothelial keratoplasty transplants only the inside layer of the cornea, and is much preferred when possible because it requires minimal stitches and allows for a much quicker recovery.
55
What is laser photocoagulation?
An intense, precisely focused light beam (argon laser) creates an inflammatory reaction that seals retinal tears and leaky retinal blood vessels.
56
What does LASIK stand for?
Laser in situ keratomileusis (shaping the cornea).
57
What is the LASIK procedure?
Use of an excimer laser to correct errors of refraction (myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism). ## Footnote Performed as an outpatient procedure with use of local anesthesia. The surgeon lifts the top layer of the cornea (a flap is made) and uses a laser to sculpt the underlying cornea. The corneal flap is then repositioned.
58
What is phacoemulsification?
Cataract removal surgery in which ultrasonic vibrations break up the lens; the pieces are then aspirated through the ultrasonic probe. ## Footnote This is the typical surgery for cataract removal. In most patients, a foldable intraocular lens (IOL) is implanted at the time of surgery.
59
What is a scleral buckle?
Suture of a silicone band to the sclera over a detached portion of the retina to bring together the two layers of the detached retina.
60
What is pneumatic retinopexy?
An outpatient surgical alternative for selected retinal detachment where a gas bubble is injected into the middle of the eye, and the tear is sealed with a freezing probe or laser beam.
61
What is audiometry?
Testing the sense of hearing. An audiometer is an electrical device that delivers acoustic stimuli of specific frequencies and decibels (loudness) to determine a patient's hearing level at each frequency.
62
What is a cochlear implant procedure?
Surgical insertion of a device that allows sensorineural hearing-impaired persons to understand speech. Electrical signals are sent directly into the auditory nerve by means of electrodes inserted into the cochlea.
63
What is ear thermometry?
Measurement of the temperature of the tympanic membrane by detecting infrared radiation from the eardrum. A device is inserted into the auditory canal, and results are obtained within 2 seconds.
64
What is otoscopy?
Visual examination of the ear canal with an otoscope.
65
What is the tuning fork test?
Test of ear conduction using a vibration source (tuning fork). To perform the Rinne test, the examiner places the base of the vibrating tuning fork against the patient's mastoid bone (bone conduction) and in front of the auditory meatus (air conduction). In the Weber test, the tuning fork is held on the center of the forehead.

Medical Terminology (19 decks)

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