vitreo-, vitre-, vitr- +

(Latin: glass; glassy; like glass)

vitrectomy
1. Removal of the gel (called the vitreous) from within the eyeball.

This may be done because it has blood and scar tissue in it that blocks sight. An eye surgeon then replaces the clouded gel with a clear fluid.

2. The microsurgical procedure of removing the vitreous humor and replacing it with saline solution; performed to improve vision that has been impaired by opacities.
3. Removal of the whole or part of the vitreous body in treating endophthalmitis, diabetic retinopathy, retinal detachment, intraocular foreign bodies, and some types of glaucoma.

Surgical procedures which may be used as part of modern vitrectomy surgeries

  • Membranectomy: the removal of layers of unhealthy tissue from the retina with minute instruments; such as, forceps (tiny grasping tools), picks (miniature hooks), and visco-dissection (separating layers or tissue with jets of fluid).
  • Fluid-gas exchange: the injection of gas into the eye; such as, sulphur hexaflouride or perflouropropane to hold the retina in place or to temporarily seal off holes in the retina. These gases disappear spontaneously once they have accomplished their purpose.
  • Silicon oil injection: filling the eye with liquid silicon to hold the retina in place.
  • Photocoagulation: a laser treatment to seal off holes in the retina or to shrink unhealthy, harmful blood vessels which grow in some diseases; such as, diabetes.
  • Scleral buckling: the placement of a support positioned similar to a belt around the walls of the eyeball to hold the retina in a proper, attached position.
  • Lensectomy: removal of the lens in the eye when it is cloudy (cataract) or if it is attached to scar tissue.
vitreocapsulitis
Inflammation of the vitreous humor and the elastic capsule that encloses the crystalline lens of the eye.
vitreodentin, vitrodentin
Enameloid or the hard, glassy material that forms the surface layer of the crowns of teeth in sharks and some other fish.
vitreoretinal
A reference to the vitreous humor and the retina of the eye.
vitreoretinopathy (s) (noun), vitreoretinopathies (pl)
One of many kinds of eye ailments of the retina and vitreous humour: Vitreoretinopathy is a disorder of the clear gel that fills the eyeball and the retina of the eye, the most severe consequences of which are usually traction phenomena leading to the detachment of the retina.
vitreous
1. Resembling glass.
2. Relating to, resembling, or having the nature of glass; glassy.
3. Obtained or made from glass.
4. Of or relating to the vitreous humor.
5. Glasslike or hyaline; often used alone to designate the vitreous body of the eye.

The vitreous body refers to the transparent gel that fills the inner portion of the eyeball between the lens and the retina; also called, hyaloid body, humor cristallinus, and crystalline or vitreous humor.

vitreous chamber
The large space between the lens of the eye and the retina, which is filled with a clear, gelatinous material.
vitreous enamel
A glass coating that is applied to metal by spreading a glass powder over a metal surface and then fusing it to the metal at temperatures ranging from 600 to 1000 degrees centigrade; used for cloisomé jewelry and art objects; sinks, bathtubs, and home appliances; as well as, industrial storage tanks, silos, reaction vessels, and smokestacks.
vitreous humor, vitreous body
1. The transparent, jellylike material that fills the eyeball between the retina and the lens.
2. The transparent gelatinous substance filling the eyeball behind the crystalline lens.

The vitreous humor contains very few cells; mostly phagocytes which remove unwanted cellular debris in the visual field), no blood vessels, and 99% of its volume is water with salts, sugars, and a network of collagen fibers with hyaluronic acid accounting for the rest; however, the vitreous has a viscosity two to four times that of pure water, giving it a gelatinous consistency.

Hyaluronic acid is a complex viscous substance that lubricates joints in the body and is present in connective tissue. It also plays a role in the healing of wounds.

vitreous luster (s) (noun), vitreous lusters (pl)
A shiny appearance that resembles glass: The tiles on the wall were manufactured in order to have a vitreous luster which made the kitchen look bright and sparkling.
vitrescence
1. The quality or state of being vitreous; glassiness, or the quality of being vitrescent.
2. Having the capability of conversion into glass.
3. The susceptibility of being formed into glass.
vitrescent
Tending to become glass.
vitrescible
1. Capable of becoming glass.
2. Capable of being turned into glass.
vitric
1. Similar to glass.
2. Having the characteristics or appearance of glass.
3. Of the nature of or resembling glass.
4. A description of any glassy, pyroclastic material containing at least 75% glass.
vitric tuff
A tuff (hard volcanic rock) consisting primarily of fragments of volcanic glass.

Other glass words. More "glass" words are at this hyalo-, hyal- family unit.