Procedure
Darken the room to maximize pupillary dilatation. Designate a point (e.g., a small
painting hung on the wall) for the patient to look at that is at least 1 m away from
the patient. It is easier to fixate on an image or object than a blank wall. Switch on
the ophthalmoscope light, and set the diopters to 0. You may use your contralateral
hand to elevate the patient’s upper eyelid. Always use your right eye to examine
the patient’s right eye and your left eye to examine the patient’s left eye to avoid
being nose to nose with the patient.
Start by locating the red reflex, which is the reflection of light from the retina.
Hold the viewing window of the ophthalmoscope directly in front of your eye.
Position the ophthalmoscope about 30 cm from the patient’s eye, slightly temporal
to the center, and shine light into the pupil. A diminished red reflex or the absence
of a red reflex could indicate an obstruction (e.g., cataracts).
Follow the red reflex as you gradually move closer to the patient. Turn the dial
clockwise to decrease the diopters until you focus on the retina. Hold the ophthalmoscope
as close to the patient’s eye as possible, since this will optimize your
view. You will be able to observe only a small area of the retina in the viewing
window. Tilt the ophthalmoscope as needed to visualize different areas. Find and
follow a vessel as it increases in caliber, tracing it back to its origin at the optic
disk. The optic disk is located approximately 15 degrees nasal to the center of the
retina and should appear to be yellowish orange (Fig. 2). The optic cup is a pale
central depression in the optic disk. The axons of the retinal ganglion cells exit
the retina at the optic disk to form the optic nerve. In the retinal vasculature, veins
are thicker and darker than arteries. The fovea is the area responsible for the highest
visual acuity. It is temporal and slightly inferior to the optic disk and is surrounded
by a more darkly pigmented region called the macula.
The cup-to-disk ratio, or the ratio of the diameter of the optic cup to the diameter
of the optic disk, is normally 0.3. A higher cup-to-disk ratio, particularly a
ratio above 0.5, may indicate glaucoma. Swelling of the optic disk (Fig. 3) can have
multiple causes, including papilledema, optic neuritis, and anterior ischemic
optic neuropathy. Any of the conditions associated with a swollen optic disk requires
an emergency workup and an evaluation by an ophthalmologist.
Next, examine each quadrant of the retina, tracing vessels away from and back
toward the optic disk. You may ask the patient to look in a particular direction to
facilitate visualization of the corresponding part of the retina. For example, if you
wish to view the upper right quadrant, ask the patient to look to the upper right.
Nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy may cause microaneurysms, exudates,
dot–blot hemorrhages, and flame hemorrhages. The proliferative form of diabetic
retinopathy features neovascularization.3 Hypertension can result in changes in
the color and caliber of blood vessels, giving them the appearance of copper wire
or silver wire. “Arteriovenous nicking” refers to the narrowing or disappearance
The new england journal of medicine
n engl j med 373;8 nejm.org august 20, 2015
Figure 2. Normal Retina.
Direct ophthalmoscopy can be used
to visualize key features of the retina,
including the optic cup, optic disk,
retinal arteries and veins, fovea, and
macula.
Figure 3. Swollen Optic Disk.
A swollen optic disk is an ophthalmic
emergency and requires prompt evaluation
by an ophthalmologist.
The New England Journal of Medicine
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Copyright © 2015 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.
e9(3)
of the vein on each side of an arteriole. Cotton-wool spots result from axons that
were damaged by infarction and local ischemia. The occlusion of retinal arteries
is usually caused by atherosclerosis or emboli and requires an emergency workup
for systemic stroke. The appearance of a cherry-red spot in the fovea is a sign of
occlusion of the central retinal artery. Occlusion of the central retinal vein may
result in retinal hemorrhages.
An easy method of locating the macula is to ask the patient to look directly at
the ophthalmoscope light. You may observe the foveal reflex, which is caused by
pitting of the fovea. Because shining the light directly onto the fovea may cause
discomfort in the patient, it is best to perform this part of the examination at the
end. The wet form of age-related macular degeneration, as opposed to the dry
form, involves vision loss caused by choroidal neovascularization.
Limitations
Since direct ophthalmoscopy is performed without dilatation of the pupil, it provides
only a limited view of the retina and is best used for screening rather than
diagnostic purposes. If there is clinical suspicion of ocular disease, the patient
should be referred to an ophthalmologist for a dilated-fundus examination that will
be performed with the use of specialized equipment.
Patients with cataracts may have a diminished or missing red reflex. To obtain
the best visualization of the fundus, the size of the aperture may be reduced in
order to minimize light scattering. It may not be possible to visualize the fundus
in patients with dense cataracts. Patients with dense cataracts should be evaluated
by an ophthalmologist