fetal alcohol syndrome

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

In light of the Centers for Disease Control's very broad statements about alcohol use in women, perhaps this topic is somewhat appropriate.  Like I alluded to in the OKAP review article on embryology, there are many ocular findings associated with fetal alcohol syndrome, which are important to know, both for clinical recognition, and also for ongoing monitoring.  For further reference, the CDC has a pretty useful web portal on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

Embryologic Development Of The Eye

Truth be told, there is not very much detail that needs to be learned about embryology; after all, we've already learned embryology in medical school.  At the same time, there are some key embryology concepts that are very helpful to understanding ocular disease, and may also show up on test questions.  There usually seems to be at least one question that addresses embryology, and there are tons of practice questions that test your knowledge of embryology.

Congenital Optic Disc Anomalies

Funny-looking optic discs are a "fun" diversion in an ophthalmology clinic (sarcasm implied here).  What was initially a routine exam immediately turns into an agonizing "is this normal or not" exercise.  Part of the angst that comes from seeing anomalous optic discs is that some of the congenital disc anomalies are associated with systemic diseases.  If there is concurrent visual field loss or decreased visual acuity, the challenge becomes deciding if those defects in the visual system are due to the anomalous nerve, or if there is some other ophthalmic cause that we don't want to miss.