Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye.
All evaluations that purport to diagnose eye disease should be carried out by a physician. An ophthalmologist is a doctor of medicine who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the eye, in addition to diagnosing systemic disease that manifest in eye signs or symptoms.
Since ophthalmologists perform operations on eyes, they are considered to be both surgical and medical specialists.
In fact, the only health professional trained both medically and surgically to treat eye disorders — especially the most serious eye diseases such as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma — is an ophthalmologist.
Ophthalmologists offer a comprehensive approach to ocular symptoms and disease. As well as diagnosing and treating ocular disease either by medical or surgical means, ophthalmologists offer comprehensive ocular-visual assessment, which may include the prescription of corrective lenses.
