Ophthalmic Exam Flashcards
What ophthalmic disease is associated with Merle coat color?
Merle ocular dysgenesis
What history questions are important to ask during an ophthalmic exam?
- Duration of problem
- Unilateral vs bilateral
- Difficulty seeing
- day vs night vision
- Signs of pain
- squinting, rubbing at eye
- ocular discharge
- serous, mucoid, purulent
- Color change
- redness, cloudiness
- Medications
- duration, frequency, response
- General health concerns
- Other pets in the households
What supplies are needed for an ophthalmic exam?
- Quiet dark room
- Magnification
- Optivisor, loupes, otoscope
- Finoff transilluminator
- Schirmer tear test strips
- Fluorescein dye/eyewash
- Direct ophthalmoscope
- Indirect lense
- 28, 20 diopter
- Proparacaine (anesthetic)
- Tropicamide (mydriatic)
When should animals be sedated for ophthalmic exams
- Miosis/mydriasis (constricted/dilated pupil)
- Third eyelid protrusion/ventral globe rotation
- Decrease tear production and alter IOP
What observations can be made about the animal without the use of ophthalmic instruments?
- visual vs. nonvisual behavior
- facial symmetry
- Size and Shape of the orbit/globe
- ocular discharge
- eyelid position
- Ocular opacities
- BCS
- Temperament
What tests make up the Neuro-Ophthalmic Exam?
- Menace response
- Pupillary light reflex (PLR)
- Palpebral reflex
- Corneal reflex
- Dazzle reflex
What is the Menace Response and what is it testing?
- Stimulus: motion of hand/fingers coming toward the eye
- Receptor: retina
- Afferent: Optic nerve (CNII)
- Efferent: Facial nerve (CNVII)
- Effector: Orbicularis oculi
- Response: Blink
What are key points to remember about testing the Menace response?
- The opposite eye should be covered
- Don’t touch the facial hairs with testing hand
- Response is absent in puppies <4mo as it is a learned response
What is the Pupillary Light Reflex (PLR) and what is it testing?
- Stimulus: light
- Receptor: Retina
- Afferent: optic nerve (CNII)
- Efferent: Oculomotor (CNIII)
- Effector: Iris sphincter muscle
- Response: Pupillary constriction
- Direct PLR
- Indirect/consensual PLR
What is the PLR pathway?
- Optic nerve to Optic chiasm
- Optic tract
- ~20% of fibers to pretectal nuclei
- Decussation (majority of fibers)
- From Pretectal nuclei to Parasympathetic nuclei of the Oculomortor nerve (CNIII) (Edinger Westphal nuclei)
- Parasympathetic fibers of CN III synapse in ciliary ganglion
- short posterior ciliary nerves terminate in the iris sphincter
What are some key points of the PLR pathway
- Direct PLR = constriction of the stimulated eye
- Indirect/Consensual PLR = Constriction in contralateral, unstimulated eye
- PLR response does not test vision
- Fibers for PLR branch off the optic tract before the Lateral geniculate nucleaus
- Animals blind from cortical disease can have normal PLRs
- Animals with negative PLRs can still be visual
- Fibers for PLR branch off the optic tract before the Lateral geniculate nucleaus
What is the Palpebral/corneal Reflex and what is it testing?
- Stimulus: Touch
- Receptor: Skin/cornea
- Afferent: Trigeminal nerve (CNV)
- Efferent: Facial nerve (CNVII)
- Effector: Obicularis oculi
- Response: Blink
What is the Dazzle Reflex and what is it testing?
- Stimulus: Bright light
- Receptor: Retina
- Afferent: Optic nerve (CNII)
- Interneuron: CNS/Subcortical
- Efferent: Facial nerve (CNVII)
- Effector: Obicularis oculi muscle
- Response:: Blink
What are key points of the Dazzle Reflex?
- Especially useful when fundus can not be visualized
- hyphema (accumulated red blood cells (RBC) in the anterior chamber of the eye)
- Severe corneal disease
- Cataracts
- No need to test if Menace Response is positive
How is the Orbit examined
- Assess orbital symmetry
- Palpation
- Globe and TEL position
- Retropulsion of globe
- Oral examination
- Pterygopalatine fossa caudal to last upper molar
- Orbital disease
- Pain on opening mouth
- Inability to open mouth
What is the Adnexa and how is it examined?
- Adnexa:
- eyelids, conjunctiva, nasolacrimal system
- Variations of normal for species/breed
- Circumferential third eyelid (red arrow)
- Nonpigmented TE margin
- Haired lacrimal caruncle
- Examine Upper and lower eyelids
- General: palpebral fissure size, skin condition, discharge, blepharospasm
- Lid apposition and closure
- Incomplete = lagophthalmos
- Facial hairs contacting eye
- nasal fold, or medial canthal trichiasis
- Eylid masses
- Eyelid lacerations
- Eyelids rolling inwards (entropion)
- Eyelids rolling outward (ectropion)
- Lid Margins and underside of lids
- Distichia (eyelids arise from melbomian glands)
- ectopic cilia
- impacted melbomian glands
What is this condition
- Macropalpebral fissure
- can be normal breed variation (shitzus, etc)