My retinal imaging guide 378

A routine eye exam used to be built around familiar tools: the eye chart, the phoropter with its “better one or better two” choices, the slit lamp microscope, eye pressure testing, and a careful look at the back of the eye through dilated pupils. Those pieces still matter. A well-performed clinical exam remains the foundation of good eye care. What has changed is how much detail an eye doctor can now see beneath the surface. Optical coherence tomography, usually short