HYPEROPIA

also called Farsightedness, or Hypermetropia, visual defect in which the cornea and lens of the eye focus the image of the visual field at a point behind the retina (the light-sensitive layer of tissue lining the back and sides of the eye). The retina thus receives an unfocused image of near objects, though distant objects may be in focus. Hyperopia frequently occurs when an eye is shorter than normal from front to rear; the lens is then unable to increase its convexity sufficiently to focus the images of close objects onto the retina. A corrective lens for hyperopia is convex on both its faces to supply the additional convexity needed for focusing.