Ophthalmoscopy
Funduscopy (Eye exam)
How It Is Done
Direct ophthalmoscopy
This is the most common type of examination to look at structures inside the eye.
- Your eyes may be dilated, and you will be seated in a darkened room and asked to stare straight ahead at some distant spot in the room.
- Looking through the ophthalmoscope, your health professional will move very close to your face and shine a bright light into one of your eyes. Each eye is examined separately.
- Try to hold your eyes steady without blinking.
This examination takes 3 to 5 minutes. See a picture of a direct ophthalmoscopic examination
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Indirect ophthalmoscopy
This type of ophthalmoscopic examination gives a more complete view of the retina than direct ophthalmoscopy. It is usually done by an ophthalmologist.
- Your eyes will be dilated, and you will be asked to sit in a reclining or semi-reclining position in a darkened room.
- Your health professional will hold your eye open, shine a very bright light into it, and examine it through a special lens.
- Your health professional may ask you to look in different directions and may apply pressure to your eyeball through the skin of your eyelids with a small, blunt instrument to help bring the edges of your fundus into view.
This examination takes between 5 and 10 minutes. See a picture of an indirect ophthalmoscopic examination
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| Author: | Alison Allen | Last Updated: August 16, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine Ian MacDonald, MDCM, FRCSC - Ophthalmology Andrew Swan, MD, CCFP, FCFP - Family Medicine | |
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| Topic Contents | |
| Test Overview | |
| Why It Is Done | |
| How To Prepare | |
 | How It Is Done |
| How It Feels | |
| Risks | |
| Results | |
| What Affects the Test | |
| What To Think About | |
| References | |
| Credits | |