What do OU, OS, and OD stand for?

this is very informative and interactive, no doubt everyone reading this is having fun while learning. I enjoy both the lectures and comments aswell. cheers.

When doing an exam, if I checked the right eye by covering the lefy and the left eye by covering the right, and they are both 20/20. Is it correct to put, OU 20/20 and OS 20/20? OR…can i document, OS 20/20? In other words, if they both tested 20/20, do I have to document them separately. Or can I simply put OU 20/20?
Thank you

Please ignore my previous question. I got my letters mixed up. The question below makes better sense. Thanks When doing an exam, if I checked the right eye by covering the left and the left eye by covering the right, and they are both 20/20. Is it correct to put, OD 20/20 and OS 20/20? OR…can i document, OU 20/20? In other words, if they both tested 20/20, do I have to document them separately. Or can I simply put OU 20/20?
Thank you

Visual acuity individually and together are different things. If you only document OU one eye could be blind? You also can’t assume what the OU vision is – they might have double vision for example. So its always best to document all 3 measurements. For example… OD 20/20 OS 20/30 OU 20/15

You have to document it as OD 20/20 and OS 20/20. OU 20/? means the vision you are getting without covering either eye.

The explanation is very helpful. Just wondering, “oculus dexter”, “oculus sinister” and “oculus uterque”, are they Latin or other language origins? Thanks.

Latin. Back in the day lefties were considered signs of the devil. That’s why left eye is oculus sinister

OU OS and OD are for accurately documenting each or both eye, since the pronunciations are in Latin, we must understand that Latin is considered a dead language, so I feel pronunciation is not as important as understanding the symbolism.

I just started working in Patient Services in an eye care practice and have wondered all week what OS, OD and OU actually mean–thank you for answering my burning question so clearly!

If a patient’s RX reads -.25 pl OS -.25 pl OD with a 2.50 ADD and is having double vision when reading what is the medical term for the problem there are 2 ?

I made a mistake on my question:(it’s supposed to say when they have double vision watching TV ?there are 2 names for this problem,what are the names.

I am buying contacts and the site I am buying them from is asking Right Eye (OD) and Left Eye (OS) then theres a dropdown list under each and I am rather confused what that is about? Would someone please explain to me what the drop down lists are about that have -1 to – 10? I really dont understand what its about, and I cant purchase the contacts until those fields are filled out.

OD = Oculus Dextra
OS = Oculus Sinistra
OU = Oculus Uterque. I am also looking for the pronunciation of OU. It’s not even on howjsay.com and I have been able to find all other medical pronunciations there.

i have : OD: sphere -3.50
cylinder -0.50
axis 020
OS: sphere -2.00
cylinder -0.50
axis 175
So how many degree i have at the right eyes and the left eyes?

i have
OD. +25 sphere. -50 cylinder. 020. Axis. And. OS. + 50 sphere. -50. Cylinder. 125. Axis. And. + 200. + 200. Prism. Please make me understand. How bad my eyes are ? I would appreciate if you could explain in simple terms. Than you

Vanessa and Lajya … if you want to understand the components of your glasses prescription, you may want to watch this video lecture I created on optics: http://www.ophthobook.com/videos/eye-optics-lecture

How sinister of the profession to carry on the notion that we lefties are somehow inferior or less able than those of us who are Dexterous. Left and Right would be clearer, simpler. Not sure I like having an eye that is thought of by the trade as sinister!

Thanks for your expression. I was looking for those abbreviations while seating in a waiting hall for my son who will undergo eye surgery. He is a lefty. I was rather shocked to see the word ‘ sinister’