Glaucoma: Diagnosis And Management.

Glaucoma constitutes a group of disorders in which the intraocular pressure (lOP) exceeds the tolerable level of the affected eye. The high lOP may cause optic atrophy with excavation of the optic disc and characteristic visual field loss. If untreated it can result in irreversible
blindness through progressive visual field loss. Glaucoma is the third major cause of blindness in the United States and constitutes 12% of all blindness. Glaucoma causes 56,000 cases of blindness and approximately 1 million cases of impaired vision. Every year, 178,000 new cases of glaucoma are discovered.