Certified Paraoptometric (CPO) Practice Exam 2025

What is it called when the eye focuses images theoretically behind it, causing blurry vision?

1. Myopia

2. Emmetropia

3. Hyperopia

4. Presbyopia

The correct answer is: Hyperopia

The condition described, where the eye focuses images behind the retina, resulting in blurry vision, is known as hyperopia. In hyperopia, light rays are focused behind the retina when the eye is at rest, making distant objects appear clearer than close ones. This occurs because the eyeball is too short or the cornea has too little curvature, which causes a mismatch between the eye's physical dimensions and its refractive power. In contrast, myopia is when images are focused in front of the retina, causing difficulty seeing distant objects clearly. Emmetropia refers to a normal state of vision where light focuses correctly on the retina, and presbyopia is an age-related condition that affects the ability to focus on close objects due to decreased elasticity of the lens, not the focusing behind the retina. Thus, the correct term for focusing images behind the eye is hyperopia.