Causes of Glaucoma



Glaucoma is caused by the increase in the fluid pressure in the eye of an individual because of the aqueous humor being unable to flow out from the eye of the individual. Glaucoma may be caused on account of the drainage channels within the angle that is formed by the iris and the cornea getting partially blocked resulting in the aqueous humor draining out of the eye very slowly resulting in primary open angle glaucoma. Similarly angle closure Glaucoma tend to occur when the iris bulges forward, thereby blocking or narrowing the drainage angle. As a result, the aqueous fluid is not able to exit from the eye thereby increasing the fluid pressure. Another type of Glaucoma is low tension Glaucoma wherein the optic nerve tends to get damaged even if the fluid pressure in the eye is at a normal range. This tends to occur because of a reduced supply of blood to the optic nerve or even because of plaque deposits in the arteries. Alternatively, pigmentary Glaucoma occurs on account of the dispersion of granules of pigment within the eye which tend to accumulate and adversely affect the outflow of the aqueous fluid.


Frequently asked questions
References
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