A fundoscopic eye exam is a completely non-invasive procedure that is performed by ophthalmologists on the eye. This procedure requires the use of one of Charles Babbage’s inventions called the fundoscope or opthalmoscope. This is a device that anyone who has been to an ophthalmologist should be familiar with. It is the device that is used by the doctor to look inside the eye. The area that is of interest to the doctor is a part called the fundus of the eye. The fundus is the area inside the eye that is directly opposite to the lens and basically contains the retina. Here, there is a spot that can be identified as the start optic nerve called the optic disc.
This is the part that is of the most interest to an ophthalmologist. There is no preparation or any kind of aspect to be worried about for this examination. All that you need to do is to sit and look in the direction that the doctor tells you to while he or she looks into your eye from a distance. A dilated fundoscopic exam is usually one of the procedures that is a given. This is because in the presence of bright light the pupils will naturally constrict. This can limit the field of view available to the doctor; therefore, the doctor might have to administer some atropine to keep the iris from dilating.
A fundoscope is an instrument that is really just a giant magnifying glass that consists of a number of lenses that can magnify an object by almost 15 times. The fundoscopic exam procedure will start with the doctor anesthetizing the eye with drops of atropine and then simply looking into the eye. It is noted that some of the abnormalities of the optic disc are tell tale signs of glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and sometimes even the presence of intracranial pressure. This is because the increased pressure on the brain will sometimes distort the optic nerve.
The only thing that you need to be worried about is doing some kind of activity after the eye exam. This is because of the effect of atropine that will leave the eyes dilated and unable to focus. Only objects that are very far away can be examined during this time and therefore it is advisable to be immobile for several hours after the eye exam to avoid getting into accidents of some kind.