Glaucoma - Health Information What is glaucoma Glaucoma is a
condition affecting the eye, where pressure of fluid inside the
eye increases above the normal level and affects vision. The
progression of the disease may lead to destruction of the nerve
fibre and impaired vision in later life. How does it occur The
eye is approximately the size of a ping-pong ball and its walls
are composed of several layers of muscles. The innermost layer
of this wall is called the retina and is light sensitive, being
responsible for detecting light rays and sending them to the
brain via the optic nerve which transmits the light in the form
of electric impulses. This helps to establish vision. Inside the
eyeball is a lens suspended by muscles near the front of the eye
and this focuses incoming light rays from outside onto the
retina. In front of the lens is the iris which, by alteration of
its diameter, controls the amount of light entering the eye. The
eyeball is filled with jelly like fluid which fills the inside
of the eyebal