Corneal Disorders

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Corneal Disorders

Summary

Your cornea is the outermost layer of your eye. It is clear and shaped like a dome. The cornea helps to shield the rest of the eye from germs, dust, and other harmful matter. It also helps your eye to focus. If you wear contact lenses, they float on top of your corneas.

Problems with the cornea include

Refractive errors
Allergies
Infections
Injuries
Dystrophies - conditions in which parts of the cornea lose clarity due to a buildup of cloudy material

Treatments of corneal disorders include medicines, corneal transplantation, and corneal laser surgery.

NIH: National Eye Institute

Start Here

Facts about the Cornea and Corneal Disease (National Eye Institute)

Symptoms

Eye Symptoms (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

Dilating Eye Drops (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
Eye Problems: Symptom Checker Flowchart (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

Cornea Transplant (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
Keratoconus Treatment Options (National Keratoconus Foundation)

Related Issues

Contact Lens-Related Eye Infections (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish
Corneal Ulcer (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish
Dry Eye (National Eye Institute)
Shingles (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish

Specifics

Bacterial Keratitis (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish
Bullous Keratopathy (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
Corneal Laceration (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish
Fuchs' Dystrophy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
Fungal Keratitis (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish
Herpes Keratitis (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish
Keratoconus Frequently Asked Questions (National Keratoconus Foundation)
Keratomalacia (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
Peripheral Ulcerative Keratitis (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
Superficial Punctate Keratitis (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
What Is a Pinguecula and a Pterygium? (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish

Genetics

Genetics Home Reference: complete LCAT deficiency (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: congenital stromal corneal dystrophy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: fish-eye disease (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Fuchs endothelial dystrophy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: keratitis-ichthyosis-deafness syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: keratoconus (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: lattice corneal dystrophy type I (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: lattice corneal dystrophy type II (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Meesmann corneal dystrophy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Peters anomaly (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Peters plus syndrome (National Library of Medicine)

Images

Corneal Abrasion (Logical Images)
Corneal Foreign Body (Logical Images)
Corneal transplant - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Recurrent Corneal Erosion (Logical Images)

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Corneal Diseases (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Corneal Injuries (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Reference Desk

Diagram of the Eye (National Eye Institute) Also in Spanish
Glossary of Terms (Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology)

Find an Expert

American Optometric Association
Find Services for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired (American Foundation for the Blind)
Finding an Eye Care Professional (National Eye Institute) Also in Spanish
National Eye Institute

Teenagers

Corneal Abrasions (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

Cloudy cornea (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Corneal injury (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Corneal transplant (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Corneal ulcers and infections (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Fuchs dystrophy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Keratoconus (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Basics

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Research

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