Cornea

What is the cornea?
The cornea is like the front window of the eye that controls and focuses the entry of light into the eye.The cornea, smooth and clear as glass, strong and durable, helps the eye by shielding it from germs, dust, and other harmful matter. Light that strikes the healthy cornea refracts onto the lens which further refocuses that light onto the retina. The retina then converts the light rays into impulses that are sent through the optic nerve to the brain, which interprets them as images.

Corneal diseases include infections of the conjunctiva (thin membrane covering the front of the eye) and cornea, and corneal degenerations and other abnormalities of the ocular surface and anterior segment such as bullous keratopathy (corneal edema - fluid inside the cornea), corneal ulcer, corneal scarring, and corneal astigmatism ("football-shaped" cornea).

Doctors:

• John C. Affeldt, MD, MPH
• Julio Narvaez, MD
• Mark D. Sherman, MD
• Balachandran Srinivasan, MD