BOOK REVIEW
Anatomy of the Eye and Orbit—The Clinical Essentials
Thomas F. Freddo and Edward Chaum
Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health; 2017.
ISBN: 9781469873282. $139.99
Anatomy of the Eye and Orbit is a clear
and concise text that will suit the needs
of students and residents and will also
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spark the interest of eye care professionals.
This book is a collaboration of a team of
eye care professionals and researchers.
Written by experts in the field, the book
targets a broad audience. It incorporates
abundant clinical pearls and novel find-
ings and discusses controversies that are
emerging in the field. The abundance of
exceptional images and diagrams (with
an average of two illustrations per page)
will no doubt make the text appealing to
visual learners.
This textbook is organized in six con-
ceptual sections: Orbits, Lids and Adnexa;
Overview of the Eye; Anterior Segment of
the Eye; Posterior Segment of the Eye; Em-
bryology of the Eye and Orbit; and Ocular
Anatomy by Optical Coherence Tomogra-
phy. Cross-referenced chapters for over-
lapping topics are always included and
incorporate a direct-access link in the
e-book. I particularly enjoyed the embryol-
ogy section, which is easy to follow but, at
the same time, very informative. I believe
this chapter will allow the reader to com-
prehend the developmental basis of con-
genital ocular defects and their clinical
manifestation. In addition, the Optical Co-
herence Tomography section is a timely
and excellent closure to this clinically ori-
ented ocular anatomy text. This chapter
on optical coherence tomography starts
with a succinct introduction to the tech-
nique and a thoughtful summary of com-
mon limitations the clinician needs to
consider to avoid misinterpretations when
analyzing clinical optical coherence tomog-
raphy images. This section finishes with a
synopsis about ongoing optical coherence
tomography imaging research that aims
to assess the potential uses of optical
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Copyright © American Academy of Optometry. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
Anatomy of the Eye and Orbit—The Clinical
Essentials. Freddo TF, Chaum E. Philadelphia:
Wolters Kluwer Health; 2017.
ISBN: 9781469873282. $139.99
coherence tomography to evaluate blood
and aqueous flow in the clinic.
The approach of this book highlights
the notion that structural studies are far
from static. As such, the authors are con-
stantly providing well-documented data from
new research that questions and challenges
some of the traditional or classic knowledge
and theories in the field. For instance, in the
chapter about the aqueous outflow path-
way, the authors mention the presence of
endothelial stem cells in the transition zone
between the trabecular meshwork and the
cornea and discuss their potential thera-
peutic use in regenerative medicine.
Clinical applications are included
throughout the text, exemplified in the
first chapter where the authors illustrate
the distribution of the ophthalmic nerve
Optom Vis Sci 2018; Vol 95(7)
dermatome and to help the student com-
prehend the clinical presentation of her-
pes ophthalmicus. This chapter provides
a very didactic description of the course
and destination of the orbital nerves. How-
ever, it appears that the authors only depict
the classic pathway for the innervation of
the lacrimal gland via the zygomatic and
lacrimal nerves and do not discuss the rami
orbitales, rami lacrimales, or the retro-
orbital plexus as the source of autonomic
innervation to the lacrimal gland. Blood
supply is a topic that students seem to
struggle with, but that is paramount for
understanding the presentation of vascu-
lar pathologies that involve the retina and
optic nerve. The latest consensus regard-
ing the innervation of the choroidal vascu-
lature is discussed along with a thorough
explanation of the anatomy of the posterior
ciliary arteries. The chapters that focus on
the retina, the optic nerve, and the visual
pathway, challenging topics for students
as well, are described in detail but with-
out becoming too technical for a clinically
oriented textbook. For readers eager to
explore the details further, approximately
200 references are included at the end of
these four chapters.
In summary, this textbook by Freddo
and Chaum integrates well-supported mo-
lecular explanations of the clinical findings
and nicely connects the structural study of
the visual system and its clinical relevance.
The entire text is written with enough depth
and accuracy not only for students and
residents but also for the eye care profes-
sional looking for an update on anatomy
and histology of the visual system with
clinical application.
Patricia C. Sanchez-Diaz, DVM, PhD, FAAO
UIW Rosenberg School of Optometry
San Antonio, Texas
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