Glossary
Ophthalmologist Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential ophthalmologist terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key ophthalmologist vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in ophthalmologist training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Anti-VEGF injection
- Eye injection for retinal disease.
- Cataract
- Clouding of the lens.
- Cornea
- The clear front of the eye.
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Eye damage from diabetes.
- Glaucoma
- Optic nerve damage.
- Intraocular lens
- Artificial lens implant.
- Intraocular pressure
- Pressure inside the eye.
- LASIK
- Laser vision correction.
- Macular degeneration
- Central vision loss.
- OCT
- Retinal imaging.
- Phacoemulsification
- Ultrasound cataract removal.
- Retinal detachment
- Retina pulling away.
- Strabismus
- Misaligned eyes.
- Visual field
- Range of side vision.
- Vitrectomy
- Removing the eye’s gel.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Ophthalmologist practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Ophthalmologist training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.