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EYEDUCATION MYOPIA : AN INTRODUCTION R efractive Error or Ametropia is a condition when the rays of light cannot directly focus in the retina. It focuses either in front of the retina or behind the retina. Ametropia consists of Myopia, Hypermetropia & Astigmatism. Many studies conducted across the globe about refractive errors has always shown that Myopia is the commonest and highly spread error. The term myopia was invented back in 550 AD by the then World Congress of Ophthalmology. Myopia is a Greek word which means “Close the eye”. According to WHO, it has come across a long way to effect around 1.89 billion people worldwide and if the same prevalence rate continues, the projections is that it might affect 2.56 billion people at the end of year 2020. WHAT IS MYOPIA? Myopia or Shortsightedness is a commonest form of Refractive Error (RE) where person is This chapter is a part of Myopia series. The entire series will include multiple chapters about Adult and Childhood Myopia, Myopia progression, practical approach to halt myopia progression in children and so on not able to see the distance able clear but has a clear near vision. Here distance means beyond 3 feet and near means at reading distance i.e. 35-40 cm. Clinical definition of Myopia is “Rays of light coming from infinity cannot focus in the retina, instead it is focused in-front of the retina, when accommodation function is at rest”. CHARACTERISTIC OF MYOPIA The major effect of myopia is that the patient is unable to see the distance image clearly. If explained practically, patient with myopia may have difficulty to see the bottom scroll in 44 VISION PLUS ARABIA EDITION