508 CHAPTER 11• Special Senses: Eyes and Ears
used to detect the causes of such symptoms as hoarseness, hearing and breathing difficulty, and swelling around the
head or neck. Another important part of the ENT physician’s practice is treatment of sleep disorders, most commonly
sleep apnea. Various types of procedures, including but not limited to surgery, may be performed to treat sleep apnea
or snoring disorders. ENT physicians are also involved in introducing rehabilitative programs for children and adults
who have suffered hearing loss. Such programs commonly include collaborations with community agencies to identify
hearing-impaired individuals (through public screenings) and provide them with needed medical treatment. Another
health-care provider, the audiologist (not a medical doctor), detects, evaluates, and treats hearing loss.
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OVERVIEW
The major senses of the body are sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and balance. These sensations are identified with
specific body organs. Senses of smell, taste, and touch were discussed in previous chapters. This chapter focuses on the
eyes and ears, which include the senses of sight, hearing, and balance.
EYES
The eyes and their accessory structures are receptor organs that provide vision. As one of the most important sense
organs of the body, the eyes not only provide most of the information about what we see, but also of what we learn
from printed material. Similar to other sensory organs, the eyes are constructed to detect stimuli in the environment
and to transmit those observations to the brain for interpretation.
WORD ELEMENTS
This section introduces combining forms (CFs) related to the eye. Included are key suffixes; pre-
fixes are defined in the right-hand column as needed. Review the following table, and pronounce
each word in the word analysis column aloud before you begin to work the frames.
Word Element Meaning Word Analysis
Combining Forms
blephar/o eyelid blephar/o/spasm (BLĔF-ă-rō-spăzm): involuntary contraction of eyelid muscles
-spasm:involuntary contraction, twitching
Blepharospasm may be due to eye strain or nervous irritability.
conjunctiv/o conjunctiva conjunctiv/itis (kŏn-jŭnk-tĭ-VĪ-tĭs): inflammation of the conjunctiva; also called
pinkeye
-itis: inflammation
Conjunctivitis can be caused by bacteria, allergy, irritation, or a foreign body.
choroid/o choroid choroid/o/pathy (kō-roy-DŎP-ă-thē): noninflammatory degeneration of the
choroid
-pathy: disease
The choroid is a thin, highly vascular layer of the eye between the retina and sclera.
corne/o cornea corne/itis (kŏr-nē-Ī-tĭs): inflammation of the cornea; also called keratitis
-itis: inflammation
cor/o pupil aniso/cor/ia (ăn-ī-sō-KŌ-rē-ă): inequality of pupil size
aniso-: unequal, dissimilar
-ia: condition
Anisocoria may be congenital or associated with a neurological injury or disease.
core/o core/o/meter (kō-rē-ŎM-ĕ-tĕr): instrument for measuring the pupil
-meter: instrument for measuring
pupill/o pupill/ary (PŪ-pĭ-lăr-ē): pertaining to the pupil
-ary: pertaining to