Foreword

These notes represent a compilation of information from numerous sources and are the Web version of the printed version that was published from 1986 through 2001. Some of the material reflects my opinion based on personal observations and experience. Other information stems from published literature, ideas of my colleagues and various pearls of wisdom gleaned during my years as a veterinary medical student and resident in ophthalmology. Discussions with Drs. Roy W. Bellhorn, Dennis V. Hacker and Christopher J. Murphy were very helpful in earlier editions and some of this information continues to remain a part of the present edition. Comments and suggestions by others, including students and residents, were also appreciated and contributed positively to this work.

These notes are not intended to be comprehensive, rather they are meant to provide guidelines to the diagnosis and treatment of ocular problems in veterinary medicine. You are expected to have a basic knowledge of veterinary ophthalmology in order to make the best use of the information within. Anatomical, physiological and embryological considerations are minimal and are included only to highlight or add further understanding to the subject being described. There are several good texts on ocular anatomy and you are referred to them for further detail . The same applies for surgical procedures involving the eye .

The publications listed in the section on Literature Cited are only representative; dozens more could be added in many categories. I make reference to these throughout the text either as general information or specifically to alert you to additional information which may be useful to you.

Throughout these notes, most of the information refers to the dog, except as noted otherwise. The dog is used as the main species because more information is available (and perhaps due to their inherent incredibleness!). When a particular species is not listed for a disease process, this usually reflects insufficient knowledge about the disease in that species, not that a particular species is spared. For many of the conditions listed, treatment either is unavailable, inadvisable or unnecessary; some conditions simply are noteworthy curiosities. You should not believe that every abnormality needs rectification.

Although an attempt has been made to organize ocular diseases by anatomical location, you readily can appreciate that many conditions involve several structures simultaneously because of their proximity.

These notes have been revised as new information became available or when present information or ideas seemed incorrect based on contemporary thought. Therefore, older editions should not be used unless specific sections of interest are updated by comparison with similar information in a newer edition. Some of the differences are stylistic or relatively minor medically speaking. In some cases, however, the differences may have serious consequences for how a particular disease is managed because of new understanding, diagnostic techniques, accumulated information on what modes of therapy may or may not work and so forth.

Christopher J. Murphy, D.V.M., provided information on the optics of the eye relative to ophthalmoscopy. Sue Tugwell and Kathy Jones, D.V.M., provided the illustrations for these notes, and Deborah Lenarduzzi assisted in typing and organizing the original draft many years ago. In every edition since, I have edited and entered the final copy into the computer and, therefore, am totally responsible for any mistakes. So that I may continue to improve the quality of these notes, I would appreciate being apprised of anything which you may believe to be in error.

This Web edition will be maintained and modified by me until I retire from academia. At that point, perhaps others in the Ophthalmology Service at the university will take over and continue to offer and improve this medium for learning veterinary ophthalmology.

Nedim C. Buyukmihci, V.M.D.
Professor of Ophthalmology
University of California
School of Veterinary Medicine
Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences
Davis, California 95616-8745 U.S.A.

To Ginger, Bobby, Mary, Notorious Boy, Gertie, Petunia, Jim, Mark, RB, Herman, Lucile, Harriet, Francine, Barbara, Scott, Tara, Samantha, Zelda, Ozzie, Rosie Bloom, Tina, Rodriguez, Sarah, Stanley, Ronnie, Big Rose, Josephine, Midge and Ms. Mary, some of the most wonderful individuals with whom I have had the great fortune to share life's experiences and mysteries.