Abstract
The rat Rattus norvegicus is widely used in experimental work, both providing a rodent model for human ocular disease and as a species for toxicologic screening. In addition, the rat is more and more widely kept as a pet, being both friendly and intelligent. Diagnosis and treatment of ocular disease is important for the welfare of individual animals and whole colonies, but also to ensure that spontaneous disease is not compromising experimental work. Here, ophthalmic conditions are reviewed in order to provide a survey of ocular disease in the rat both for veterinary ophthalmologists and for laboratory animal veterinarians and research workers.