Eye
Uvea (iris, choroid and ciliary body), limbus and sclera
Uveitis
Author: Nat Pernick, M.D.
Last author update: 1 February 2014
Last staff update: 2 March 2021
Copyright: 2003-2024, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.
PubMed Search: Eye Uvea Uveitis[title] AND (free full text[sb] AND Humans[Mesh])
Table of Contents
Definition / generalCite this page: Pernick N. Uveitis. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/eyeuveauveitis.html. Accessed April 20th, 2024.
Definition / general
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Anterior uveitis (iridocyclitis):
- Diffuse infiltration by plasma cells, occasionally nodular lymphocytic infiltrates
- Associated with obliteration of anterior chamber and adherence of iris to cornea
- May be seen in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
- Diffuse, focal or scattered chronic inflammatory infiltrate, often involving retina
- May form cyclitic membrane that contracts, leading to detachment of retina and ciliary body
- Not painful, so enucleation often not necessary
- Enucleation if recurrence leads to adhesions between iris and cornea (anterior synechiae) or iris and anterior surface of lens (posterior synechiae) causing secondary glaucoma
- Cause usually cannot be determined; known causes are herpes zoster, Behcet's disease (obliterative vasculitis of retinal vessels), Pneumocystis carinii
- May be due to sarcoidosis
- Also tuberculosis, leprosy, syphilis, tularemia, CMV, varicella zoster virus, fungi and parasites
Posterior uveitis (choroiditis, chorioretinitis):
Granulomatous uveitis:
