Better than Avatar

This semester, as with the previous two, I have Theory and Methods lab. This is where we learn the procedures that we will be doing everyday once we get out into the real world. This semester we are learning how to use the slit lamp aka the biomicroscope. Basically this is a microscope that is used to look at the outer part of the eye, and the inner eye with the help of some very high powered lenses.

Previously we had looked at pictures in class. Pictures are only 2D, but when looking at the back of the eye with the slit lamp you can see depth. Now this doesn't sound like a big deal, but you really don't know what you're missing out on till you actually see it in 3D. Here is what the back of the eye looks like in a healthy individual in 2D:


Normally one person can use the slit lamp and see the image, but slit lamps at schools have an extra part called a teaching tube that allows a second person to also view the image (but in 2D). This is how our professors help teach us and grade us. It also comes in handy when we are practicing on our own.

As I was getting my extra lens lined up and focused on the back of my partner's eye for the first time a professor had wandered up and was watching through the teaching tube. At my initial awe of the sight he said to me "Better than Avatar in'nit?" (in'nit= isn't it, with a southern drawl). It really was a sight. In the picture above, where all the red lines are coming out of the yellow circle you actually see them coming out at you when using the slit lamp. Granted it is subtle, but comparing it to 2D vs 3D movies is really the best comparison that I can offer.

Below are the lenses used for the slit lamp, well I only know how to use the two little ones. I'll learn how to use the big one later. At the start of each semester we pick up the equipment that was ordered for us and learn how to use it during the semester. In the past we've gotten some pretty fancy kits. I think we all felt a little gypped when we were charged $700 for 3 lenses.