eye anatomy & physiology
This structure has no blood vessels and gets oxygen from tears and air.
➡️ TEST TIP: injury = severe pain
Cornea
This painless, slow-progressing condition is the leading cause of blindness worldwide.
Cataracts
This test measures intraocular pressure and screens for glaucoma.
Tonometry
These three bones conduct sound from the tympanic membrane to the inner ear.
Malleus, incus, stapes(hammer, anvil, stirrup)
Age-related bilateral hearing loss affecting high-pitched sounds is called this.
Presbycusis
This layer of the eye contains rods and cones and converts light into nerve signals.
Retina
Known as the “silent thief of sight,” this disease causes peripheral vision loss.
Glaucoma
In this tuning fork test, air conduction should be greater than bone conduction.
Rinne test
This structure equalizes pressure between the middle ear and nasopharynx.
Eustachian tube
Ringing, buzzing, or roaring heard only by the patient describes this condition.
Tinnitus
Damage to this structure results in permanent blindness, even if the eye itself is intact.
Optic nerve
Sudden flashes of light, floaters, and a curtain over vision indicate this emergency.
Retinal detachment
After eye surgery, patients must avoid anything that increases this.
Increased intraocular pressure
Damage to these structures causes permanent sensorineural hearing loss.
Cochlear hair cells
This type of hearing loss involves the outer or middle ear and may be reversible.
Conductive hearing loss
This fluid maintains intraocular pressure and nourishes the eye.
Aqueous humor
This eye condition requires immediate flushing for 20–30 minutes before anything else.
Chemical eye injury
This test detects central vision distortion and screens for macular degeneration.
Amsler grid
This cranial nerve must be assessed post-ear surgery by asking the patient to smile.
Cranial nerve VII
This disorder causes episodic vertigo, tinnitus, and ear fullness.
Ménière’s disease
This pathway explains why images hit the retina upside down before the brain corrects them. (name or order or pathway)
Visual pathway (cornea → lens → retina → optic nerve → brain)
This condition causes severe eye pain, halos, nausea, vomiting, and is a medical emergency.
Acute angle-closure glaucoma
When a patient reports sudden vision loss, the nurse’s priority action is this.
Immediate ophthalmology referral / keep patient still
This part of the inner ear is responsible for both hearing and balance.
Labyrinth / inner ear
This medication side effect presents first as tinnitus and requires immediate reporting, one example of medication that causes this hehe
Ototoxicity, aminoglycosides, loops, tetracycline, etc.