Certified Ophthalmic Assistant Practice Exam

The iris, ciliary body, and choroid are known collectively as what?

1. Retina

2. Uvea

3. Cornea

4. Anterior segment

The correct answer is: Uvea

The iris, ciliary body, and choroid are collectively known as the uvea. This term is used in ophthalmology to refer to the middle layer of the eye, which plays a crucial role in the eye's functionality. The uvea is responsible for providing nutrients to the eye, controlling the amount of light that enters through the pupil, and contributing to the eye’s overall structure. The iris is the colored part of the eye that regulates the size of the pupil, thus controlling light entry. The ciliary body controls the shape of the lens for focusing, while the choroid is a vascular layer that supplies blood to the outer layers of the retina. These components work harmoniously to maintain eye health and proper vision functionality. Other options such as retina, cornea, and anterior segment refer to different parts of the eye. The retina is the innermost layer that detects light and converts it into neural signals, the cornea is the transparent front layer of the eye that helps focus light, and the anterior segment refers to the front part of the eye including the iris, ciliary body, and the cornea, but not the choroid. Therefore, the correct answer is uvea, which accurately encompasses