What is an age-related change in the lens called?

Lenticular sclerosis refers to a specific age-related change in the lens of the eye, commonly observed in senior dogs. As dogs age, the lens undergoes a non-pathological alteration where it becomes more dense and appears bluish or cloudy. This change occurs as a result of the accumulation of proteins and fluid changes within the lens fibers, which is a normal part of aging and is distinguished from cataracts.

Cataracts, on the other hand, represent a pathological condition where the lens becomes opaque and leads to impaired vision. In contrast, while lenticular sclerosis may cause some visual impairment, it does not typically result in severe vision loss like cataracts do.

The other choices, such as corneal edema and corneal ulcer, relate to the cornea rather than the lens and involve different pathophysiological processes. Corneal edema is the accumulation of fluid in the cornea, and a corneal ulcer is a loss of epithelial integrity in the cornea, neither of which are associated with age-related changes in the lens. Thus, lenticular sclerosis is the correct term used to describe this normal aging change in the lens of the eye in canines.