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Cataracts in adults: management. London: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2017 Oct. (NICE Guideline, No. 77.)
| Glossary of terms used in this guideline | |
|---|---|
| Anisometropia | Vision imbalance where the eyes naturally focus at different distances. |
| Bilateral simultaneous cataract surgery | Surgery is undertaken to remove cataracts in both eyes during a single operation or on the same day. |
| Brunescent cataract | An advanced cataract that is brown in its appearance and has become opaque. |
| Corneal refractive surgery | Surgical remodelling of the cornea (the outer structure of the eye) to improve how well the eye can focus on objects. |
| Corneal topography | A non-invasive medical imaging technique for mapping the surface curvature of the cornea (the outer structure of the eye). |
| Cystoid macular oedema | Fluid and protein deposits collect on or under the macula of the eye (a central area of the retina) and causes it to thicken and swell. |
| Eye akinesia | A term for when the eye is incapable of moving (short term paralysis of the muscles) |
| Floppy iris syndrome | A surgical complication characterised by the iris flopping around in the fluid of the eye making cataract extraction more difficult. |
| Glistenings | A sparkling of light in the visual field. |
| Keratometry | A process which is used to measure the curvature of the cornea, particularly for assessing levels of astigmatism |
| Limbal-relaxing incisions | Small cuts in the limbus (the border of the cornea and sclera – the white of the eye), which allows the cornea to become more rounded when it heals. |
| Mesopic light levels | Low but not quite dark lighting conditions, for example the level of light at night in an area with streetlights. |
| Monovision | Wearing one contact lens with focuses that eye for distance vision, and a second that focuses the other eye for near vision. |
| On-axis surgery | A full thickness corneal incision (cut) which flattens the cornea to reduce pre-existing astigmatism (blurred or distorted vision) |
| Phacoemulsification | Cataract surgery in which the eye’s internal lens is broken up using ultrasound before being aspirated (removed by suction) from the eye. |
| Photopic light levels | Well-lit lighting conditions. |
| Posterior capsule opacification | A thickening of the back (posterior) of the lens capsule which holds the artificial lens in place. This thickening of the capsule causes vision to become cloudy. |
| Posterior capsule rupture | A break or tear in the back of the lens capsule which holds the artificial lens in place. |
| Pseudoexfoliation | An aging–related disease which is characterized by the accumulation of microscopic granular protein fibres, which can lead to a build-up of pressure in the eye. |
| Refractive implications | How well the eye can focus on objects after surgery and lens insertion. |
| Retinal detachment | Where the retina separates from the back of the eye. |
| Snellen Chart | An eyechart commonly used to measure a person’s visual acuity. It consist of a series of letters of decreasing size viewed at a distance of 6 metres. Normally a Snellen Chart has one large letter at the top down to a row of very small letters at the bottom. Although it is beginning to be superseded by similar but more reproducible and scientifically valid charts, it is still in common use in clinical practice and is the chart most people will have been asked to read when having their eyes and vision tested. |
| Suprachorodial haemorrhage | An accumulation of blood within the space between the sclera (white part of the eye) and the choroid (layer in the eye which contains large numbers of blood vessels). |
| Visual acuity | The clarity and sharpness with which objects are seen, in particular the ability to see fine details. |
| Zonular dehiscence | Surgical complication where the wound ruptures along a surgical incision in the eye. |
- Glossary - Cataracts in adults: managementGlossary - Cataracts in adults: management
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