Ophthalmoscopy

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Eye

Lateral eye anatomy

Overview

Risks

Results

Ophthalmoscopy

Alternative Names:

Fundoscopy

What the risks are:

The test itself involves no risk. The dilating eye drops may rarely produce nausea, vomiting, dryness of the mouth, flushing, dizziness, or an attack of narrow-angle glaucoma. If the latter is suspected, drops generally are not used.

Special considerations:

Since it can detect the initial stages and early effects of many serious diseases, ophthalmoscopy is a most valuable test. It is considered to be 90-95% accurate. In addition to specific eye diseases, ophthalmoscopy can detect heart and blood vessel diseases (particularly high blood pressure), brain disease, and diabetes.

References:

Yanoff M, Duker JS, Augsburger JJ, et al. eds. Ophthalmology. 2nd ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2004:1461-1462.

Ruamviboonsuk P, Wongcumchang N, Surawongsin P, Panyawatananukul E, Tiensuwan M. Screening for diabetic retinopathy in rural area using single-field, digital fundus images. J Med Assoc Thai. 2005 Feb;88(2):176-80.

Review Date: 8/11/2005
Reviewed By: Edward B. Feinberg, MD, MPH, Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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