During a LASIK procedure, what part of the eye does the ophthalmologist remove small portions of?

The correct answer is that during a LASIK procedure, the ophthalmologist removes small portions of the cornea. The cornea is the clear, dome-shaped surface that covers the front of the eye and plays a crucial role in focusing vision. In LASIK surgery, the procedure aims to reshape the cornea to improve refractive errors such as myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism. By altering the curvature of the cornea, light can enter the eye more precisely and enhance visual acuity.

Other structures of the eye have different functions and are not involved in this procedure. The lens of the eye helps to focus light onto the retina but is not altered during LASIK. The retina is the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye that sends visual signals to the brain, which also remains untouched in LASIK. The iris, the colored part of the eye, controls the size of the pupil and regulates the amount of light entering the eye. Removing portions of these structures would not address the vision problems LASIK is designed to correct. Thus, the focus on reshaping the cornea is what makes LASIK an effective treatment for certain vision impairments.