An introduction to cataracts
Abstract
Nursing ophthalmic patients can be delicate, difficult and very rewarding. The aim of this article is provide technicians and nurses with some background to the condition known as cataracts. Being equipped with the knowledge and understanding of what they are and why they occur will assist in the nursing of these patients.
A veterinary nurse can often be drawn into procedures that she/he has had little training for, without recognizing that they do have a wealth of knowledge and skill. Cataracts and ophthalmic surgery is one of the areas that cause concern for nurses.
This article will aid in veterinary nurses' understanding and knowledge of cataracts, their causes, types and management, including their removal.
The lens is a transparent biconvex structure, surrounded by an outer capsule, sitting within the eye held by the ciliary body (Figure 1). Contraction of the ciliary muscles changes the shape of the lens, so changing its optical power. On the anterior portion of the outer capsule there is a monolayer of cuboidal epithelium that continually undergoes mitosis. On multiplying, these cells move to the equator of the lens where they become elongated, forming spindle shaped fibres (older fibres being found within the deeper section of the lens).
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