essay

1. What is an action potential? Describe how this differs from
     membrane electrical potential changes in the rod photoreceptor
     during phototransduction.
2. With the aid of diagrams illustrate the anatomy of the fovea.
3. What determines corneal curvature? How might this be modified to
     alter refraction?
4. Discuss the process of leukocyte adhesion in the blood vessels during
    inflammation. What drugs may affect this process?
5. Discuss, with the aid of diagrams, the autonomic control of lacrimal
    secretion.
6. What is a second messenger? Discuss how a cytokine might act on a
     second messenger.
7. What is amyloid? Discuss the mechanisms by which amyloid is
    deposited in the brain.
8. Describe how staphylococcus aureus becomes resistant to methicillin.
9. How does the anatomy of the superior oblique muscle influence its
    primary and secondary actions in different positions of gaze?
10. Write short notes on ageing in the lens.
11. Write short notes on:
a. mechanism of action of aminoglycosides
b. pathogenic fungi
c. necrotising facsciitis

12. Write short notes on when you would use parametric and
       non-parametric statistical tests.

1. Describe mechanisms regulating aqueous outflow.
2. What are free radicals? How do they cause damage to retinal
    photoreceptors? What protective mechanisms are present in the
    normal eye?
3. The resolving power of the eye is known as visual acuity. Write short
    notes on its physiological basis.
4. What factors affect corneal hydration? Discuss the role of the
     epithelium.
5. Describe ways in which cells die.
6. Write short notes, with the aid of diagrams, on the vascular supply of
     the optic nerve.
7. Write short notes on the development of the lens pre-natally and
     during infancy.
8. What is the Golgi apparatus? How is it involved in secretion of
     proteins? Describe this process in relation to mast cells.
9. Write short notes on the pathogenesis of atheromatous plaques.
10. Compare and contrast magnocellular and parvocellular pathways.
11. What is an electroretinogram? What are the cellular origins of its
       components?
12. Define sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value of a
      screening procedure.