Optometry Defined Doctors of optometry are independent primary health care providers who examine, diagnose, treat and manage diseases and disorders of the visual system, the eye and associated structures as well as diagnose related systemic conditions. American Optometric Association, 1993. This means that optometrists, as primary health care providers, are the eye-doctor that the majority of people seek care from first.
Ophthalmologists are medical doctors and specialize in eye surgery and other secondary care.
Since ancient times, people have used quartz and other crystalline rocks as lenses by placing them directly upon the object that they needed to see. The earliest known painting of a person actually wearing glasses is a portrait of Ugo di Provanza, a cardinal who died in 1262. Initially glasses were very expensive and only available to people who could read and write the educated rich or clergy. In fact, glasses were so valued that if you were fortunate enough to have a pair, you often passed them on to family members in your wills. In later years, glasses became more available, but they were still not custom made you just picked out the pair you could see through the best.