Electroretinography is the name of an
electrical technique for recording changes in the electrical potential
of the retina
of the eye
when it is stimulated by light. This technique is capable of measuring
the electrical responses of many of the different types of cells that
form the retina.
Electroretinography is used to record an "electroretinogram"
(or "ERG" for short).
This process involves placing one electrode onto the front of the
eye (in a contact lens) and attaching another electrode to subject's skin,
sometimes at the back of the person's head. While an electroretinogram
is being recorded the subject's eyes are exposed to specific standard
stimuli. The electroretinogram itself consists of electrical
potentials contributed by different cell types within the retina. The
stimulus conditions, such as flash or pattern stimulus, a background light
being activated or not, and the colours of the stimulus and background,
can provoke different sets of responses from the different cell types.
Electroretinography is useful for studying and diagnosing
some retinal diseases, especially in situations when it is difficult for
the ophthalmologist to view the retina directly, e.g. due to cataracts.
This section includes short definitions of clinical and surgical procedures
concerning the eyes and human visual system. For definitions of other
terms in this category, choose from the list to the left.
Other related pages include the diagram
of the eye, and definitions
of parts of the eye, a description
of the human retina, and the section about disorders
of the eye and visual system.
|
