Eye parts and Eye cancer Symptoms
Eye cancer
Cancer starts when the cells in the body begin to grow out of control, The cells in nearly any part of the body can become cancer, and it can spread to the other areas of the body, The eye cancer starts in the eye, And there are different types of eye cancers.
The eye cancer is the general term used to describe many types of tumors which can start in various parts of the eye, It occurs when the healthy cells in or around the eye change and grow uncontrollably, forming a mass called the tumor.
The tumor can be benign or cancerous, The benign tumor means the tumor can grow but will not spread, The cancerous tumor is malignant, meaning it can grow and spread to the other parts of the body, cancer which forms in the eyeball is called the intraocular (inside the eye) malignancy.
There are many types of cancer that affect the eyes which are eye melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma, lymphoma, retinoblastoma, a childhood cancer, Cancer can develop in the tissues surrounding your eyeball or it can spread to the eye from the other parts of the body such as the lungs or the breasts.
Eye parts
Parts of the eye
The eye consists of 3 major parts which are the eyeball (globe), the orbit, and the adnexal structures, Eyeball is the main part of the eye, It is also known as the globe that is mostly filled with a jelly-like material called vitreous humor.
The eyeball has 3 main layers which are the sclera, the uvea, and the retina, The sclera is the white tough covering over most of the outside of the eyeball, In the front of the eye, It is continuous with the cornea that is clear to let the light through.
The uvea is the middle layer of the eyeball where most melanomas of the eye develop, The uvea consists of 3 main parts which are the iris, the choroid and the ciliary body, The iris is the colored part of the eye (It is often blue or brown), It surrounds the pupil, and the small opening that lets the light enters the eyeball.
The choroid is the thin, pigmented layer lining the eyeball which nourishes the retina and the front of the eye with the blood, The ciliary body has the muscles inside the eye which change the shape of the lens, So, the eye can focus on the near or the distant objects.
The ciliary body has the cells which make the aqueous humor which is the clear fluid in the front of the eye among the lens and the cornea, The retina is the inner layer of cells in the back of the eye, It consists of the specialized nerve cells which are sensitive to the light, and they are connected to the brain by the optic nerve.
When the light enters the eye, It passes through the lens that focuses it on the retina, The pattern of the light (image) appearing on the retina is sent through the optic nerve to the area of the brain called the visual cortex that allows us to see.
The orbit contains the tissues surrounding the eyeball, They include the muscles that move the eyeball in the different directions and the nerves attached to the eye, Cancers of these tissues are called the orbital cancers, The Adnexal (accessory) structures include the eyelids and the tear glands, and Cancers which develop in these tissues are called the adnexal cancers.
Symptoms of eye cancer
The symptoms of eye cancer can include the shadows, the flashes of light, or the wiggly lines in your vision, the blurred vision, the dark patch in your eye that’s getting bigger, the partial or total loss of vision, the bulging of one eye, the lump on your eyelid or in your eye that’s increasing in size , and the pain in or around your eye , although this is rare.
