Topic outline

  • The Eye in Systemic Disease

    Introduction:


    The eyes provide a window for light from the outside world, but they also give us insight into what's happening inside the body.

    In this module we learn about the ocular manifestations several disparate disorders. This will serve as a model reminding us to consider examining the eyes if we our ever stumped in our future diagnostic efforts.

    First, we learn about Thyroid Ophthalmopathy. This is associated with Grave's disease and it presents with a very distinct eye bulge which is somewhat pathognomonic for the illness.

    After that, we learn about the effects of diabetes on the eye, specifically Diabetic Retinopathy. This poses a serious risk to sight, because of the prevalence of diabetes it's extremely important that we learn how to make this diagnosis.

    We then move on to a discussion of HIV in the eye. The ophthalmologist is often the first doctor to identify a patient with HIV, so it's essential that you learn to recognize the signs.

    Finally, we discuss the ways in which Hypertension can affect vision.

    The eyes provide an excellent diagnostic tool when we might be otherwise uncertain of what's going on with our patients. Let's learn about how to use this window to the rest of the body so we can become better diagnosticians.

    Issue Date: 08/01/2020