CERF Eye
Exam 2:21
At Cornell we perform an evaluation for congenital (inherited) ocular abnormalities called the Canine Eye Registration Foundation Exam.
For a veterinarian, the eye is like a crystal ball of the body. It can give the veterinarian a lot of information.
We use a modified form of this exam in young animals. Puppies are too young to identify all inherited developing anomalies, but we look for things that might disqualify a puppy as a potential breeder. Many anomalies, however, are recessive, so the fact that we don't see them phenotypically does not guarantee that they are not there in the genotype. DNA testing could also be done to rule out other anomalies. The best time to look at puppies is at 6-9 weeks of age; again at 6-9 months; and then annually, as certain diseases only appear later in life.
The eye exam includes a brief overall physical exam. We are a teaching hospital, and this allows us to help the students to look at the whole animal - we listen to each puppy's' heart, look in the mouth, check for cleft palate, check the body for hernia, etc.
To do the eye exam, puppies are given a drop to dilate the eye. We check the entire eye from front to back, starting with the lids, the eye movement, then we look at the eye surface, the lens, and all the way back to the retina.
Dr. Riis
