Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems. Since ophthalmologists perform operations on eyes, they are considered to be both surgical and medical specialists.
Ophthalmology includes sub-specialities which deal either with certain diseases or diseases of certain parts of the eye. Some of them are:
- Anterior segment surgery
- Retinal ophthalmology, which emphasizes such things as laser treatment of the retina and actual retinal surgery.
- Cataracts — not usually considered a subspecialty per se, since most general ophthalmologists perform cataract surgery
- Cornea, ocular surface, and external disease
- Glaucoma
- Medical retina, deals with treatment of retinal problems through non-surgical means.
- Neuro-ophthalmology
- Ocular oncology
- Oculoplastics & Orbit surgery
- Ophthalmic pathology
- Pediatric ophthalmology/Strabismus (mis-alignment of the eyes)
- Refractive surgery
- Uveitis
- Immunology
- Veterinary Formal specialty training programs in veterinary ophthalmology now exist in some countries.
Vitreo-retinal surgery, deals with surgical management of retinal and posterior segment diseases and disorders. Medical retina and vitreo-retinal surgery sometimes together called posterior segment subspecialisation.
