he following six pictures show the deepening of the optic nerve cup as the effects of glaucoma are manifest on the nerve head.

This is what the nerve looks like inside the eye when the eye is examined with an ophthalmoscope. As damage occurs over time, the cup can be seen to be deepening. As the cup gets deeper, the rim gets thinner. The rim is where the incoming optic nerve fibers from the retina gather together to continue down the optic nerve. They take the visual information from the retina and carry it to the brain.

Picture 1, in the upper left corner is a normal cup. Picture 2 could be a normal variant.
Picture 3 has significant damage already. Pictures 4, 5, and 6 are all showing significant damage.

1	2
Number 1 has a good rim, and shallow cup. Number 2 has enlarged considerably.
3	4
Number 3 is a very suspect disc. Number 4 has a serious problem in the making.
5	6
Number 5 has a dangerously deep cup. Number 6 is even worse.