Pathology meaning
The study of suffering
What is pathology
The study of the cause, development, the structural and functional changes associated with a disease
What is a disease
A deviation from a normal phenotype that is evident from subjective experience or objective measurement made by someone else
What is Etiology
Initial cause of a disease
What is Pathogenesis
The mechanism which an etiological factor causes disease
What is pathophysiology
Disturbance of normal physiological mechanisms that occur with the natural course of the disease
Sign vs Symptom
Sign is the manifestation of a disease a physician sees. A symptom is what the patient feels/sees
What is cause and effect
Where an action leads onto another
What is correlation
When one action is related to another action but does not cause each other
What is Glaucoma
Irreversible blindness that is not curable but can be slowed down to halt vision loss with treatment with early detection
Who does Glaucoma mainly affect
2-3% of people over 40
What is the consequence of glaucoma
Degenerative optic neuropathy, ONH changes which is associated with RGC death
What does RGC death cause
Visual field loss
How does reduced axoplasmic transport affect retinal fibre layer
optic nerve head damage which can be localised in the sup/inf area or very localised as a notch in the optic nerve head. This all gives visual field defects
Describe the fundus image reitnal fibre structure
The optic nerve begins in the retina at the retinal nerve fibre layer. The Horizontal raphe separate the superior and inferior of the optic nerve head that houses the superior and inferior arcuate bundles. There is also a Nasial radial bundle and a Papillomacular bundle.
Describe the cross section of the optic nerve head, with the layer names
In a cross section of the optic nerve head, there is the Pre-laminar, Laminar and the Post-laminar. The pre-laminar layer is the retinal layer. The Laminar is the layer that houses the Laminar cribrosa. The post-laminar is is everything else after the lamina cribrosa. In the cross section you will also see the central retinal artery with a thicker arterial wall and a central retinal vein. There is also the presence of the Pial, Arachnoid and Dura mater.
How does Glaucoma begin
rim loss and cup enlargement hence a larger C/D ratio, the lamina cribrosa thins and is displaced posteriorly, this results in the disrupted axonal transport to and from the LGN. Hence vision loss
What is axonal transport
Two way communication between RGC bodies and their synaptic terminals via microtubules and neurofilaments within axons
2 types of axonal transport
Anterograde and Retrograde
What is Anterograde transport
Delivers proteins and lipids
What is Retrograde tansport
For trophic factors for cell proliferation and differenction
What happens if axonal transport is reduced
RGC dysfunction and death
Characteristics of a healthy NRR and optic cup
Thick and pink, Small optic cup and normal lamina cribrosa
Characteristics of thinning and cupping NRR and optic cup
Thin, atrophic and pale, large and deep optic cup and a distorted lamina cribrosa