CERTIFIED OPHTHALMIC MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIST COMT COMPREHENSIVE EXAM
SCRIPT COMPLETE QUESTIONS VERIFIED SOLUTIONS
Certified Ophthalmic Medical Technologist COMT
Certification Review Questions and Answers Verified
Solutions Latest Update 2026/2027
Question:
A patient taking a medication containing an atropine like drug may experience what vision problem?
Answer:
Difficulty seeing at near, even if distance acuity is good
Question:
What at the eight pieces of information that are needed for the history of present illness?
Answer:
Location, quality, severity, duration, timing, context, modifying factors, associated signs and
symptoms
Question:
True or False: The ophthalmic assistant should refrain from asking a particular question because it
appears to be too private or embarrassing.
Answer:
False
Question:
What ophthalmic conditions are important to know for the family history?
Answer:
Significant refractive error, strabismus and glaucoma, ocular tumors (retinoblastoma), retinal
disease/blindness, cataract in childhood, amblyopia
,Question:
What are the four main elements of history taking that affect the level of coding for the exam?
Answer:
Chief complaint (CC), history of present illness (HPI), review of systems (ROS), past medical,
family and social history (PFSHx)
Question:
During your history interview, how should you handle questions from your patient regarding his or
her condition?
Answer:
Always refer the patient to the provider for a diagnosis or medical advice, even if you think you
know the answer.
Question:
HIPAA was signed into law in what year?
Answer:
1996
Question:
What five principal areas are covered in a history?
Answer:
CC and HPI; Past ocular history; General medical and social history; Family ocular and medical
history; Allergies, medications (including vitamins and supplements)
Question:
How should you document the chief complaint to indicate the words the patient reported to you?
Answer:
Write the patient's exact words, set off by quotation marks.
,Question:
What percent of the nerve fibers in the optic tract are for pupillary function?
Answer:
20 Percent
Question:
Name two types of drugs that may cause bilateral constriction of the pupils (miosis).
Answer:
Glaucoma miotics such as pilocarpine, and narcotics such as morphine (among others)
Question:
Describe the pupil after an acute episode of narrow-angle glaucoma.
Answer:
The pupil may be dilated and fixed to direct and consensual light, and is characteristically oval.
Question:
What are posterior synechiae?
Answer:
Adhesions between the lens and iris usually caused by chronic inflammation, such as iritis; these
may cause irregular changes in the shape of the pupil.
Question:
What system controls both pupil size and pupil reaction?
Answer:
autonomic nervous system (ANS)
, Question:
True or False: The system for response to light is entirely subcortical.
Answer:
True. No pupillary fibers transmit messages higher than the midbrain or to any of the cerebral lobes.
Question:
The pathway for light entering the eye is called what?
Answer:
The afferent pupillary pathway
Question:
The returning motor pathway for the light reflex and accommodation that effects pupillary response
is referred to as what?
Answer:
The efferent pathway
Question:
When the dilator muscle contracts, how does the pupil react?
Answer:
The pupil dilates, allowing more light to enter.
Question:
The near reflex causes what to happen when an object is brought closer to the eye from infinity?
Answer:
Accommodation, to keep the image clear; Miosis (smaller pupil size - which may improve the image
quality by a pinhole effect), and convergence of the eyes to keep the image single
SCRIPT COMPLETE QUESTIONS VERIFIED SOLUTIONS
Certified Ophthalmic Medical Technologist COMT
Certification Review Questions and Answers Verified
Solutions Latest Update 2026/2027
Question:
A patient taking a medication containing an atropine like drug may experience what vision problem?
Answer:
Difficulty seeing at near, even if distance acuity is good
Question:
What at the eight pieces of information that are needed for the history of present illness?
Answer:
Location, quality, severity, duration, timing, context, modifying factors, associated signs and
symptoms
Question:
True or False: The ophthalmic assistant should refrain from asking a particular question because it
appears to be too private or embarrassing.
Answer:
False
Question:
What ophthalmic conditions are important to know for the family history?
Answer:
Significant refractive error, strabismus and glaucoma, ocular tumors (retinoblastoma), retinal
disease/blindness, cataract in childhood, amblyopia
,Question:
What are the four main elements of history taking that affect the level of coding for the exam?
Answer:
Chief complaint (CC), history of present illness (HPI), review of systems (ROS), past medical,
family and social history (PFSHx)
Question:
During your history interview, how should you handle questions from your patient regarding his or
her condition?
Answer:
Always refer the patient to the provider for a diagnosis or medical advice, even if you think you
know the answer.
Question:
HIPAA was signed into law in what year?
Answer:
1996
Question:
What five principal areas are covered in a history?
Answer:
CC and HPI; Past ocular history; General medical and social history; Family ocular and medical
history; Allergies, medications (including vitamins and supplements)
Question:
How should you document the chief complaint to indicate the words the patient reported to you?
Answer:
Write the patient's exact words, set off by quotation marks.
,Question:
What percent of the nerve fibers in the optic tract are for pupillary function?
Answer:
20 Percent
Question:
Name two types of drugs that may cause bilateral constriction of the pupils (miosis).
Answer:
Glaucoma miotics such as pilocarpine, and narcotics such as morphine (among others)
Question:
Describe the pupil after an acute episode of narrow-angle glaucoma.
Answer:
The pupil may be dilated and fixed to direct and consensual light, and is characteristically oval.
Question:
What are posterior synechiae?
Answer:
Adhesions between the lens and iris usually caused by chronic inflammation, such as iritis; these
may cause irregular changes in the shape of the pupil.
Question:
What system controls both pupil size and pupil reaction?
Answer:
autonomic nervous system (ANS)
, Question:
True or False: The system for response to light is entirely subcortical.
Answer:
True. No pupillary fibers transmit messages higher than the midbrain or to any of the cerebral lobes.
Question:
The pathway for light entering the eye is called what?
Answer:
The afferent pupillary pathway
Question:
The returning motor pathway for the light reflex and accommodation that effects pupillary response
is referred to as what?
Answer:
The efferent pathway
Question:
When the dilator muscle contracts, how does the pupil react?
Answer:
The pupil dilates, allowing more light to enter.
Question:
The near reflex causes what to happen when an object is brought closer to the eye from infinity?
Answer:
Accommodation, to keep the image clear; Miosis (smaller pupil size - which may improve the image
quality by a pinhole effect), and convergence of the eyes to keep the image single
