Retinopathy is any damage to the retina of the eyes, which may cause vision impairment. Retinopathy often refers to retinal vascular disease, or damage to the retina caused by abnormal blood flow. Age-related macular degeneration is technically included under the umbrella term retinopathy but is often discussed as a separate entity. Retinopathy, or retinal vascular disease, can be broadly categorized into proliferative and non-proliferative types. Frequently, retinopathy is an ocular manifestation of systemic disease as seen in diabetes or hypertension. Diabetes is the most common cause of retinopathy in the U.S. as of 2008. Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in working-aged people. It accounts for about 5% of blindness worldwide and is designated a priority eye disease by the World Health Organization.
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases which result in damage to the optic nerve and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle glaucoma with less common types including closed-angle glaucoma and normal-tension glaucoma. Open-angle glaucoma develops slowly over time and there is no pain. Peripheral vision may begin to decrease followed by central vision resulting in blindness if not treated. Closed-angle glaucoma can present gradually or suddenly. The sudden presentation may involve severe eye pain, blurred vision, mid-dilated pupil, redness of the eye, and nausea. Vision loss from glaucoma, once it has occurred, is permanent.
Macular edema occurs when fluid and protein deposits collect on or under the macula of the eye and causes it to thicken and swell (edema). The swelling may distort a person's central vision, because the macula holds tightly packed cones that provide sharp, clear, central vision to enable a person to see detail, form, and color that is directly in the centre of the field of view.
This is a partial list of publishes a classification of known diseases and injuries, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, or ICD-10. This list uses that classification.
A red eye is an eye that appears red due to illness or injury. It is usually injection and prominence of the superficial blood vessels of the conjunctiva, which may be caused by disorders of these or adjacent structures. Conjunctivitis and subconjunctival hemorrhage are two of the less serious but more common causes.
Retinal haemorrhage is a disorder of the eye in which bleeding occurs in the retina, the light sensitive tissue, located on the back wall of the eye. There are photoreceptor cells in the retina called rods and cones, which transduce light energy into nerve signals that can be processed by the brain to form visual images. Retinal hemorrhage can affect adults, and newborn babies and infants may also suffer from this disorder.
ICD-10 is an international statistical classification used in health care and related industries.
Neovascularization is the natural formation of new blood vessels, usually in the form of functional microvascular networks, capable of perfusion by red blood cells, that form to serve as collateral circulation in response to local poor perfusion or ischemia. Neovascularization is conventionally distinguished from angiogenesis in that angiogenesis is mainly characterized by the protrusion and outgrowth of capillary buds and sprouts from pre-existing blood vessels. Vasculogenesis can be synonymous with neovascularization but also often has reference instead to prenatal development and the initial embryologic formation of blood vessels. Growth factors that inhibit neovascularization include those that affect endothelial cell division and differentiation. These growth factors often act in a paracrine or autocrine fashion; they include fibroblast growth factor, placental growth factor, insulin-like growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor, and platelet-derived endothelial growth factor.
Collateral circulation is the alternate circulation around a blocked artery or vein via another path, such as nearby minor vessels. It may occur via preexisting vascular redundancy, as in the circle of Willis in the brain, or it may occur via new branches formed between adjacent blood vessels (neovascularization), as in the eye after a retinal embolism. Its formation may be provoked by pathological conditions such as high vascular resistance or ischaemia.
Presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome (POHS) is a syndrome affecting the eye, which is characterized by peripheral atrophic chorioretinal scars, atrophy or scarring adjacent to the optic disc and maculopathy.
Ocular ischemic syndrome is the constellation of ocular signs and symptoms secondary to severe, chronic arterial hypoperfusion to the eye. Amaurosis fugax is a form of acute vision loss caused by reduced blood flow to the eye; it may be a warning sign of an impending stroke, as both stroke and retinal artery occlusion can be caused by thromboembolism due to atherosclerosis elsewhere in the body. Consequently, those with transient blurring of vision are advised to urgently seek medical attention for a thorough evaluation of the carotid artery. Anterior segment ischemic syndrome is a similar ischemic condition of anterior segment usually seen in post-surgical cases. Retinal artery occlusion leads to rapid death of retinal cells, thereby resulting in severe loss of vision.
Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is a disease of the eye where the flow of blood through the central retinal artery is blocked (occluded). There are several different causes of this occlusion; the most common is carotid artery atherosclerosis.
Vitreous hemorrhage is the extravasation, or leakage, of blood into the areas in and around the vitreous humor of the eye. The vitreous humor is the clear gel that fills the space between the lens and the retina of the eye. A variety of conditions can result in blood leaking into the vitreous humor, which can cause impaired vision, floaters, and photopsia.
Branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) is a common retinal vascular disease of the elderly. It is caused by the occlusion of one of the branches of central retinal vein.
Flammer syndrome is a recently described clinical entity comprising a complex of clinical features caused mainly by dysregulation of the blood supply which has previously been called vascular dysregulation. It can manifest itself in many symptoms such as cold hands and feet and is often associated with low blood pressure. In certain cases it is associated with or predisposes for the development of diseases such as a normal tension glaucoma. Flammer syndrome is named after the Swiss ophthalmologist Josef Flammer.
