Don't believe me? I SAW a giant mole in a patient's right eye today. It was about 4 times as large as his optic nerve (see diagram to the left for general back-of-eye anatomy). Not only did I SEE it, I took a PICTURE of it for the optometrist I work for.
In the picture at the right (known as a central fundus photo -- or in other words, the patient is looking directly into the camera), you'll notice a dark spot right by the optic nerve. This is a nevus (fancy word for mole). Now imagine a perfectly round mole twice the diameter of the optic nerve in the extreme upper portion of the picture and you'll see what I saw. It was really cool! We had to have the patient look up and at an angle so we could get a look at it.
I love my job. I take pictures like these on most of the patients that come in. When they see the backs of their eyes, I usually crack a joke like "Awww! You didn't smile!" Or "I barely recognize you!". It's fun... especially with the really little kids, or the really old people. :)
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