Test Overview
The slit lamp exam uses an instrument that provides a magnified,
three-dimensional (3-D) view of the different parts of the eye. During the
exam, your doctor can look at the front parts of the eye, including the clear,
outer covering (), the lens, the colored part (), and the front section of the gel-like fluid
() that fills the large space in the middle
of the eye.
Special lenses can be placed between the slit lamp
and the cornea (or directly on the cornea) to view deeper structures of the
eye, such as the
,
, and the area where fluid drains out of the eye
(). A camera may be attached to the slit lamp to take photographs of
different parts of the eye.
See a picture of the
.
Fluorescein dye
eyedrops may be used during a slit lamp examination to make it easier to detect
a foreign body, such as a metal fragment, or an infected or injured area on the
cornea.