Pearls of Clinical Examination of the Eyes for Family Medicine Practitioners

Many eye diseases can be diagnosed with penlight and direct ophthalmoscope available in the general practitioner’s clinic. Proficient ocular examination technique and visual recognition skill are essential to diagnose them. Examination of the eyes can help in diagnosing systemic diseases and assessing their progression because ocular involvement is observed in a majority of the systemic diseases. The signs observed on clinical examination are unique in the sense that one eye sign is specific of a particular eye disease. All the signs seen in different structures of the eye are summarized with the diseases in which they are seen in this article. Hence, this article is useful as a quick reference to the family medicine practitioners to interpret the eye signs and assist in the diagnosis of the common eye diseases as they are often the first port of call in the community.