Granular lids and contagious diseases of the eye / by W.F. Mittendorf.

Date:
1886
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Granular lids and contagious diseases of the eye / by W.F. Mittendorf. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    the entire cornea, and in others it may remain station- ary for some time, even for years. The depth of the process as well as its vascularity varies also consider- ably in different cases. A few scattered vessels with- out any apparent elevation of the epithelial layer is seen in one case, whereas, the swelling and vascularity in other cases may be so marked as to give the pannus the appearance of a red, fleshy mass, covering the up- per portion of the cornea (Pannus crassus). In other instances we see no blood-vessels or elevation, only a diffuse dimness of the upper part of the cornea is visi- ble (Pannus siccus). Pannus, in itself, is not a very painful affection; and if the patient complains about severe and sudden pain in the course of the disease, we should look for beginning ulceration of the cornea. Marginal ulcerations of the cornea, which we are so apt to meet in acute conjunctival affections, are, however, rare in granular lids. Impairment of sight depends more upon the extent of the pannus than upon its thickness, and so long as the pupillary space is not invaded it is not much affected. The pathological changes of the cornea are first observed in the superficial epithelial layers. Loss of cells causes an unevenness, which gives the cornea a stippled appearance, this is followed by the appearance of fine blood-vessels, which gradually increase in size, length and number. These vessels are usually super- ficial and are derived from the vessels of the congested and inflamed limbus. This part of the conjunctiva.