The crystalline is a lens placed behind the pupil.
The lens loses transparency with aging due to alteration of the constituent proteins.
The loss of transparency leads to a progressive decline in vision (senile cataracts).
The lens can be opacified at birth (congenital cataract).
Cataracts can be a consequence of trauma, radiation exposure, ocular inflammation or systemic diseases (secondary cataract).
The most frequent symptoms of cataracts are: visual fogging, glare, perception of halos around light sources, monocular image splitting, loss of contrast, variation of the power of the spectacle lenses.
Phacoemulsification surgery with artificial lens implant restores transparency.
The diagnosis of cataracts is done during the eye examination.
