Myopia overview
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Myopia Microchapters |
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Myopia overview On the Web |
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American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Myopia overview |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [2] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Saumya Easaw, M.B.B.S.[3]
Overview
Myopia (from Greek: μυωπία myopia "near-sightedness"[1]), also called near-or short-sightedness, is a refractive defect of the eye in which collimated light produces image focus in front of theretina when accommodation is relaxed.
Those with myopia see nearby objects clearly but distant objects appear blurred. With myopia, the eyeball is too long, or thecornea is too steep, so images are focused in the vitreous inside the eye rather than on the retina at the back of the eye. The opposite defect of myopia ishyperopia or "farsightedness" or "long-sightedness" — this is where the cornea is too flat or the eye is too short.
Mainstream ophthalmologists and optometrists most commonly correct myopia through the use of corrective lenses, such as glasses or contact lenses. It may also be corrected by refractive surgery, such as LASIK. The corrective lenses have a negative optical power (i.e. are concave) which compensates for the excessive positive diopters of the myopic eye. In some cases, pinhole glasses are used by patients with low-level myopia. These work by reducing the blur circle formed on the retina.