Glaucoma Disease Glossary
Navigating a diagnosis of an age-related disease can be overwhelming, especially with all the new medical terms involved. Whether you're preparing for a doctor’s visit or simply want to better understand a glaucoma diagnosis, this glossary serves as a quick reference to help you define and understand commonly used terms.
Intraocular eye pressure
The fluid pressure inside the eye. Eye pressure is a major risk factor for glaucoma; however, not every person with increased eye pressure will develop glaucoma, and glaucoma can develop without increased eye pressure.
Iris
The colored ring of tissue behind the cornea that regulates the amount of light entering the eye by adjusting the size of the pupil.
Lens
The transparent structure suspended behind the iris that helps to focus light on the retina; it primarily provides a fine-tuning adjustment to the primary focusing structure of the eye, which is the cornea.
Macula
The portion of the eye at the center of the retina in the back of the eye that processes sharp, clear, straight-ahead vision. Damage to the macula results in blind spots and blurred or distorted vision.
Neovascular glaucoma
A type of secondary glaucoma that occurs when abnormal blood vessel growth blocks the eye’s fluid drainage channels and leads to increased eye pressure.
Normal-tension glaucoma
A form of glaucoma that is similar to primary open-angle glaucoma, except that damage to the optic nerve occurs even though eye pressure is not elevated.