1.5 The Abnormally Sized Eye

Question 1

What is the term for an abnormally large and small globe?

Answer 1

• micropthalmia: maldevelopment of the globe and its structures during fetal development, leading to a small eye
• buphthalmia: eye enlargement (congenital or acquired)

Question 2

What is phthisis bulbi?

Answer 2

The “end-stage eye”: scarring, globe disorganization, and atrophy due to any major chronic insult (e.g., seen in end-stage ERU)

Question 3

List some conditions commonly mistaken as an abnormally small eye.

Answer 3

• retracted globe (enopthalmia) due to ocular pain, weightloss, horner’s syndrome, etc.
• anisocoria / heterochromia / pigmentation can cause the visual effect of a large/small globe

Question 4

What is the main cause of buphthalmia?

Answer 4

glaucoma
- may be primary or secondary

Question 5

What is the difference between primary and secondary glaucoma?

Answer 5

• primary glaucoma is the congenital or inherited pathological increase in IOP
• secondary glaucoma is caused by secondary factors such as chronic uveitis, intraocular neoplasia, or systemic hypertension

Question 6

List some conditions commonly mistaken as an abnormally large eye.

Answer 6

• a globe that is pushed forward (exopthalmia) due to an orbital mass
• corneal disease, anisocoria, heterochromia, or proptosis (eyelid margin trapped behind globe equator)