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Glaucoma and combined cataract/glaucoma
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Glaucoma is a disorder which causes damage
to the optic nerve due to an increase in pressure
within the eye. If left untreated it can lead
to blindness. In Germany an estimated four million
people suffer from glaucoma, a quarter of them
without even realising it. The main danger of
glaucoma is that at the beginning there is no
reduction in vision or any other symptoms. For
this reason everybody should have their intraocular
pressure measured once a year by the ophthalmologist
as of the age of 40. The earlier a glaucoma
is diagnosed, the easier it is to avoid damage
to the eye and the better the treatment options.
Glaucoma
In the eye, the aqueous fluid produced by
the ciliary body has the task of keeping the
intraocular pressure stable within certain natural
fluctuation limits. The aqueous fluid fills
the anterior and posterior chamber, i.e. the
space between the cornea, iris and lens. The
aqueous fluid is produced by the ciliary epithelium
directly behind the iris. From the ciliary body
the aqueous fluid flows through the pupil into
the anterior chamber from where it is led out
of the eye via a tissue filter, the trabecula
of the angle of the anterior chamber.
Glaucoma occurs when the outflow of
aqueous fluid is obstructed at the angle
of the anterior chamber, and pressure
within the eyeball increases. The nerve
fibres in the iris and in the optic nerve
are particularly sensitive to pressure
and thus at most risk from a glaucoma.
Once these nerve fibres have been damaged,
this damage cannot be reversed. In chronic
cases, the increasing loss of optic nerve
fibres leads to increasingly severe losses
of visual field right up to complete blindness.
Ocular fundus (Glaucoma)
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Laser-Retina-Scan
(HRT) |
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Further information
on glaucoma>>
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