The back of the eye (fundus) is the inner surface of the eyeball. With a high-magnification special lens, the retina with the visual center (macula), the optic nerve head (papilla) and the supplying blood vessels in the posterior segment of the eye can be assessed using a slit lamp microscope.
In order to gain the best possible insight, the pupil must be dilated using special eye drops. After the examination, your vision may be blurred for several hours. A vehicle must therefore not be driven for around 2-3 hours after the pupil has dilated with eye drops.
The eye fundus examination is particularly important for the diagnosis and follow-up of the following diseases:
- Macular degeneration (age-related disease of the retina in the area of the center of sharpest vision, the macula).
- Changes in the blood vessels due to high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, assessment of the vascular status and the risk of a stroke, vascular occlusions in the retina
- Diabetes (diabetic retinopathy, but also assessment of diabetes-related vascular damage in other organ systems based on the microscopically dilated vascular structures in the eye)
- Diseases of the optic nerve (glaucoma, inflammation, infarction)
- Tumors inside the eye
