The slit lamp is an instrument consisting of a high-intensity light source that can be focused to shine a thin sheet of light into the eye. It is used in conjunction with a biomicroscope. The lamp facilitates an examination of the anterior segment and posterior segment of the human eye, which includes the eyelid, sclera, conjunctiva, iris, natural crystalline lens, and cornea. The binocular slit-lamp examination provides a stereoscopic magnified view of the eye structures in detail, enabling anatomical diagnoses to be made for a variety of eye conditions. A second, hand-held lens is used to examine the retina.

The slit lamp exam may detect many diseases of the eye, including:

• Cataract
• Conjunctivitis
• Corneal injury such as corneal ulcer or corneal swelling
• Diabetic retinopathy
• Fuchs" dystrophy
• Keratoconus (Fleischer ring)
• Macular degeneration
• Retinal detachment
• Retinal vessel occlusion
• Retinitis pigmentosa
• Sj￶gren"s syndrome
• Toxoplasmosis
• Uveitis
• Wilson"s disease (Kayser-Fleischer ring)