What is Optic Nerve? - Glaucoma Glossary

The Optic Nerve is a bundle of more than 1 million nerve fibers that transmits visual information from the retina to the brain.

What it means for the patient

You can think of the optic nerve as the vital cable connecting your eye to your brain. If the cable is damaged by high pressure (as in glaucoma), vision signals are lost, resulting in blindness.

Clinical significance

Glaucomatous damage to the optic nerve is characterized by progressive cupping, neuroretinal rim thinning, and focal structural losses that precede measurable visual field deficits.

How it is tracked

Optic nerve health is objectively monitored via Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) on the Glaucoma One timeline, allowing detection of microscopic changes over time.