Technology: its role in our conception of glaucoma. The 35th Mark J. Schoenberg lecture

Glaucoma is a medical notion encompassing many diverse entities. Our present conception of glaucoma is rooted in four major technological innovations: ophthalmoscopy, tonometry, perimetry, and gonioscopy. The results of our findings from these modalities determine how we diagnose and plan management strategies. In essence, we are bound to a series of numbers or values useful in clinical practice but which tell us little about the pathogenetic factor(s) causing glaucoma.