What is Ophthalmology?
In simplest terms, ophthalmology is a branch of medicine that deals with diseases and surgery related to the eye, visual pathways and surrounding tissue. There are many diseases that can affect the eye; click on the links below to learn about some common disease of the eye and how they are treated.
Are there further branches of ophthalmology?
Believe it or not, there are also branches within ophthalmology; in other words, there are eye doctors that specialize in specific diseases of the eye. At the Queen’s Univeristy Eye Centre, we are lucky to have all of these specialists working together at Hotel Dieu Hospital. For a complete list of sub-specialties and our sub-specialists, click here.
• Cornea and external disease
• Neuro-ophthalmology (the word “neuro” refers to the brain)
• Pediatric ophthalmology
• Glaucoma
• Occuloplastics
• Refractive surgery
• Retina and vitreous
• Ocular pathology
• Cataract
What is the difference between an ophthalmologist, optometrist and optician?
Although ophthalmologists, optometrists and opticians all work with eyes, their careers are very different and they specialize in different areas of vision.
An optician is a person that makes and adjusts glasses or other optic aids such as contact lenses. An optometrist is a person that works mainly to improve vision with optical aids such as glasses or contact lenses (they do not make them though), but can also diagnose and monitor eye diseases.
On the other hand, an ophthalmologist is someone who has completed medical school plus additional training in treatment of eye diseases. An ophthalmologist can treat all eye diseases, and may perform surgery as well. Although there is some overlap between the work of an optometrist and ophthalmologist, they can be thought of as two very different professions. What are some common eye diseases that an ophthalmologist can treat? Eye diseases can occur in nearly every structure of the eye and surrounding tissue. There are hundreds of eye diseases that an ophthalmologist may encounter; below is a brief list of some of the most common eye diseases. Click to learn more. CataractGlaucomaMacular DegenerationDiabetic RetinopathyRefractive ErrorUveitisRed EyeConjunctivitisBlepharitisStrabismusOptic NeuritisTrachoma |
