Word parts
What it means
The sharpness of vision, usually tested with an eye chart such as a Snellen chart 20 feet away, one eye at a time. The result is a fraction: 20/20 is normal; 20/40 means the person must be at 20 feet to read what a person with normal vision reads at 40 feet. Near vision is tested with a card held at reading distance. In the United States, legal blindness is vision of 20/200 or worse in the better eye with correction.
For the nurse
Test with the client's glasses or contacts on, and record each eye separately. A sudden change in vision is urgent and must be reported.
At a glance
| Spanish | agudeza visual |
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Related terms
sensory
Relating to the senses, or to the nerves that carry feeling from the body to the brain.
pupil
The round black opening in the center of the colored part of the eye, which lets light in.
optic nerve
The nerve that carries visual signals from the back of the eye to the brain; the second cranial nerve.
cornea
The clear, dome-shaped layer at the front of the eye, over the iris and pupil.