Macular degeneration physical examination

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

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• Drusen
• Pigmentary alterations
• Exudative changes: Hemorrhages in the eye, hard exudates, subretinal/sub-RPE/intraretinal fluid
• Atrophy: Incipient and geographic
• Visual acuity drastically decreasing (two levels or more) from 20/20 to 20/80
• Amsler Grid Test: It is one of the simplest and most effective methods for patients to monitor the health of the macula. The Amsler Grid is essentially a pattern of intersecting lines (identical to graph paper) with a black dot in the middle. The central black dot is used for fixation (a place for the eye to stare at). With normal vision, all lines surrounding the black dot will look straight and evenly spaced with no missing or odd looking areas when fixating on the grid’s central black dot. When there is disease affecting the macula, as in macular degeneration, the lines can look bent, distorted and/or missing.

Copyleft images obtained courtesy of NIH National Eye Institute.

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