Epithelial corneal cyst / by J. Herbert Claiborne.

  • Claiborne, John Herbert, Jr., 1861-1922.
Date:
[1905]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Epithelial corneal cyst / by J. Herbert Claiborne. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by UCL Library Services. The original may be consulted at UCL (University College London)

    10/14
    When I first saw the eye I made the clinical diagnosis of cor- neal cyst, and thought it probably the epithelial variety on account of the exceedingly thin cyst walls, and the extensive projection of the cysts on to the sclera. The microscopical examination con- firmed the diagnosis. Dr. Coburn does not think it possible to state definitely whether they originate from the cornea' or con- junctiva from the sections he has made, and considers it necessary to make sections of the entire eye to decide this point. Of course, until the origin of the cysts can be definitely proved, something will be lacking in the definition of the case. But, after all, the main point is clearly shown, and that is, that the cysts are of the epithelial variety. Epithelial cysts are so called when their inner walls are lined with epithelium whether the epithelium comes from the cornea or conjunctiva, and the histories of most of such cases apparently show that the conjunctiva is the source of the epithelium. When a wound occurs in the cornea, there is an active proliferation of the epithelium and thus the wound is lined. When the wound heals normally the cavity heals like all normally healing wounds, from the bottom, and the epithelium is gradually pushed up and out. But at times, the wound heals at the top and then the epithe- lium in the depth is cut off from the surface, and so the cavity is lined with epithelium by proHferation. When the wound is purely corneal, of course, the epithelium must come from the cornea, but it is when both the sclera and conjunctiva are involved in the wound that the latter plays an important role. In my case, the wound evidently extended into the sclera, as was shown by a scleral cicatrix clearly seen under the larger cyst. The probability is that when the sclera is wounded and the con- junctiva along with it, there is more active proliferation of the conjunctival cells than of the corneal, on account of the greater blood supply in the former than in the latter; and yet, the cornea must furnish its quota likewise when it is wounded, — so that it would seem reasonable to say that epithelial cysts, which exists when cornea, scleral conjunctiva, and sclera are all wounded, are