A Discussion On The Relationship Between IOP, Ophthalmodynamometry, And Systemic BP In The Normal And Ocular Hypertensive.

In the course of clinical optometric practice, optometrists often encounter pa tients with elevated IOP and must conclude if this is merely a normal find or pathological. The most accepted philosophy at present in making a diagnosis of glaucoma states that there must be these three clinical findings; 1) excessive physiological cupping
of the optic nervehead, 2) present, and of course, 3) elevated IOP. Most types of
glaucoma have these characteristics. A more precise definition can be made by simply stating that there is a decrease in vision· due to the pressure in the eye being greater than the profusion pressue of the vasculature which nourishes the
optic nerve head. This definition would include the low tension types of glaucoma. We are then assuming that nerve fiber damage results from ischemia due to pressure on the vessels.