Eye with glaucoma

In glaucoma the draining holes of the eye are narrow or blocked, causing the aqueous humor to concentrate inside the eye rising the Intraocular pressure (IOP).

High IOP levels destroy the optic nerve fibers and cause peripheral view loss. The higher the IOP rises the more nerve fibers get destroyed. When the nerve fibers are lost the light cannot reach the visual cortex, so there are black spots where an image is supposed to be seen.

All of the optical nerve fibers are gathered in the back of the eye and form the optic nerve which during fundus examination looks like an orange disk. When the optic fibers go thinner, this disk gets empty. This is how your doctor can easily make a first estimation about whether or not you suffer from glaucoma.