Characteristic features:
In glaucoma raised IOP damages nerve fibres. As they die away the neuro retinal rim gets thinner and therefore the cup gets larger.
The normal optic disc has a neuro retinal rim comprised of the retinal nerve fibres, which are exiting the eye down the optic nerve.
The centre of the disc does not have fibres and is termed the optic disc cup.
In healthy eyes the cup-to-disc ratio is typically 0.2 or 0.3. A ratio greater than 0.6 is suspicious.