Introduction General The hereditary fundus dystrophies are a group of disorders that commonly exert their major effect on the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)–photoreceptor complex and the choriocapillaris to cause a…

Introduction Aqueous production Aqueous humour is produced from plasma by the ciliary epithelium of the ciliary body pars plicata, using a combination of active and passive secretion. A high-protein filtrate…

Eyelid Trauma Periocular haematoma A ‘black eye’, consisting of a haematoma (focal collection of blood) and/or periocular ecchymosis (diffuse bruising) and oedema ( Fig. 21.1A ) is the most common…

Introduction Definitions • The visual axis passes from the fovea, through the nodal point of the eye, to the point of fixation. In normal binocular single vision (BSV) the visual…

Cornea Vortex keratopathy (cornea verticillata) Clinical features In approximately chronological order: • Fine golden-brown opacities form an irregular horizontal line in the lower corneal epithelium of both eyes, similar to…

Introduction The vitreous is a transparent extracellular gel consisting of collagen, soluble proteins, hyaluronic acid and water. Its total volume is approximately 4.0 ml. The few cells normally present in the…

Acquired Cataract Age-related cataract Subcapsular cataract Anterior subcapsular cataract lies directly under the lens capsule and is associated with fibrous metaplasia of the lens epithelium. Posterior subcapsular opacity lies just…

Anatomy The scleral stroma is composed of collagen bundles of varying size and shape that are not uniformly orientated as in the cornea, and so are not transparent. The inner…

Keratoplasty Introduction Corneal transplantation (grafting) refers to the replacement of diseased host corneal tissue by healthy donor cornea. A corneal graft (keratoplasty) may be partial-thickness (anterior or posterior lamellar) or…

Introduction Anatomy The skin ( Fig. 1.1A ) consists of the epidermis, dermis and related structures (adnexa). Fig. 1.1 Eyelid skin. (A) Normal skin is composed of keratinized stratified epithelium…