Eye

Last revised 28 May 2008

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Eye (Ophthalmic) Pathology Books

 

 

Table of contents

Primary references

 

Eye-general

Normal anatomy, autopsy findings, trisomy 13, trisomy 21, congenital rubella syndrome, cyclopia

 

Conjunctiva

Grossing, normal anatomy/histology, actinic keratosis, ataxia-telangiectasia, benign melanosis, caruncle tumors, conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia, cystinosis, cysts, dermoid, dysplasia, ephelides, fibrous histiocytoma, graft versus host disease, hereditary benign intraepithelial dyskeratosis, keratoacanthoma, leukoplakia, lymphoid hyperplasia, myxoma, nevi, ocular cicatricial pemphigoid, oncocytoma, pinguecula, plasmacytoma, primary acquired melanosis, pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia, pterygium, pyogenic granuloma, sarcoidosis, squamous papilloma, steatocystoma simplex, Sturge-Weber syndrome

Conjunctivitis: general, acute hemorrhagic, allergic, arsenic, chronic, cicatrizing, giant papillary, granulomatous, infectious, ligneous, trachoma

Carcinoma: adenoid squamous carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, carcinoma in situ, lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma, metastases, mucoepidermoid carcinoma, sebaceous carcinoma, spindle cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma

Other malignancies: Kaposi’s sarcoma, lymphoma, malignant fibrous histiocytoma, melanoma, rhabdomyosarcoma

Miscellaneous: tumor features to report, TNM staging for carcinoma, TNM staging for melanoma

 

Cornea

Normal anatomy/histology, grossing, acanthamoeba, actinic band keratopathy, aphakic bullous keratopathy, blood staining, bullous keratopathy, calcific band keratopathy, chronic active keratopathy, collagen-rich crystalloids, corneal dystrophy, epithelial ingrowth, Fuchs dystrophy, graft failure, herpes simplex keratitis, infectious keratitis, keratoconus, keratomalacia, limbus, nonspecific responses, pannus, pseudoexfoliation syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, transplant, ulceration, tumor features to report

 

Eyelid

General, anatomy

Inflammatory disorders: chalazion, mites, molluscum contagiosum, necrobiotic xanthogranuloma, Prototheca, pseudorheumatoid nodules, pyogenic granuloma, silica granuloma, stye

Tumors: general

Adnexal tumors: adenocarcinoma, eccrine acrospiroma, eccrine carcinoma, pleomorphic adenoma, sebaceous gland adenoma, sebaceous gland carcinoma, sweat gland carcinoma, syringoma, trichilemmal cell tumor, trichilemmoma, trichoepithelioma, trichofolliculoma

Melanocytic tumors: melanoma, melanosis oculi, nevi, nevus of Ota

Other tumors: actinic keratosis, amyloidosis, basal cell carcinoma, cysts, dermoid cyst, hemangioma, Kaposi sarcoma, keratoacanthoma, Merkel cell carcinoma, metastases to eyelid, myxoma, neurofibroma, phakomatous choristoma, pilomatrixoma, pleomorphic adenoma, port wine stain, seborrheic keratosis, squamous papilloma, squamous cell carcinoma, xanthelasma

Miscellaneous: tumor features to report, TNM staging for carcinoma

 

Glaucoma

General, congenital glaucoma, primary glaucoma, secondary glaucoma, degenerative changes

 

Globe

General, grossing, inflammation, leukemia, lymphoma, metastases, phthisis bulbi, trauma

 

Lacrimal duct/gland

General, adenocarcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, dacryoadenitis, dacrocystitis/canaliculitis, dacryoliathiasis, ectopic, malignant mixed tumor, melanoma, Mikulicz’s disease, mucocele, oncocytoma, papilloma, pleomorphic adenoma, squamous cell carcinoma, transitional cell carcinoma, TNM staging for carcinoma of lacrimal gland

 

Lens and vitreous humor

General, Alport’s syndrome, cataract, dislocation, persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous, phacoanaphylactic endophthalmitis, prosthetic intraocular lens, pseudoexfoliation, vitreous pathology

 

Orbit and optic nerve

General, alveolar soft parts sarcoma, anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, coloboma, dermoid cyst, drusen, dysthyroid ophthalmopathy, epithelial cyst, Erdheim-Chester, fibrous dysplasia, fibrous histiocytoma, giant cell angiofibroma, glioma of optic nerve, glioma of orbit, granulocytic sarcoma, Grave’s disease, hemangioblastoma, hemangioma, hemangiopericytoma, idiopathic sclerosing inflammation, inflammatory processes, inflammatory pseudotumor, Kimura’s disease, Langerhans cell histiocytosis, lymphangioma, lymphoid hyperplasia, lymphoma, melanocytoma, meningioma, metastases to orbit, mucocele, neurofibroma, nevus, optic atrophy, papilledema, plasmacytoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, Schnabel cavernous degeneration of optic nerve, schwannoma, shaken baby syndrome, sinus histiocytosis, solitary fibrous tumor, subconjunctival herniated orbital fat, temporal arteritis, teratoma, Wegener’s granulomatosis, TNM staging for sarcoma of orbit

 

Retina

General, adenocarcinoma, astrocytic tumor, Behcet’s disease, central retinal artery occlusion, central retinal vein occlusion, CMV, Coats’ disease, cystic macular edema, detachment, diabetes, hemangioblastoma, hypertension, lattice degeneration, macular degeneration, massive retinal gliosis, myxopapillary ependymoma, peripheral cystoid degeneration, pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma, retinal dysplasia, retinitis pigmentosa, retinoblastoma, retinocytoma, retrolental fibroplasia, sickle cell retinopathy, toxoplasmosis, tuberous sclerosis, visceral larva migrans, von Hippel-Lindau disease, Wyburn-Mason syndrome

Miscellaneous: tumor features to report-retinoblastoma, TNM for retinoblastoma

 

Uvea (iris, choroid and ciliary body), limbus and sclera

Choroid-general, ciliary body-general, iris-general, sclera-general, adenocarcinoma of ciliary epithelium, adenoma of pigmented ciliary epithelium, aniridia, anterior chamber cleavage syndrome, blue sclera, coloboma, diffuse uveal melanocytic proliferation, Fuchs’ adenoma, glioneuroma, hemangioma, herpes zoster, hypertensive changes, idiopathic solitary granuloma, iris pigment epithelial cyst, juvenile xanthogranuloma, leiomyoma, Lisch nodules, medulloepithelioma, melanocytoma, melanoma, mesenchymoma, nevi, osteoma, post-traumatic uveitis, rubeosis iridis, sarcoidosis, scleritis, senile scleral plaques, sympathetic uveitis, uveitis, uveomeningoencephalitic syndrome

Miscellaneous: tumor features to report, TNM for uveal melanoma

 

Primary references for eye chapter

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AJCC Cancer Staging Manual (6th Ed)

American Journal of Clinical Pathology, (AJCP), January 1975 to October 2007

American Journal of Surgical Pathology (AJSP), March 1977 to September 2007

Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (Archives), January 1976 to September 2007

Human Pathology (Hum Path), March 1970 to September 2007

Modern Pathology (Mod Path), January 1988 to October 2007

Font: Tumors of the Eye and Ocular Adnexa (AFIP Atlas of Tumor Pathology, Series 4, Vol 5); 2006, not 41-308

McLean: Tumors of the Eye and Ocular Adnexa (Atlas of Tumor Pathology, Series 3, Vol 12)

Mills: Histology for Pathologists (3rd Ed); Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2006, not 354-8, 58-69

Mills: Sternberg’s Diagnostic Surgical Pathology (4th Ed); Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2004

Rosai, J: Ackerman’s Surgical Pathology (9th Ed); 2004

Websites: University of Utahstart cornea, University of Illinois at Chicago

 

Journal search terms: eye, conjunctiva, choroid, ciliary body, cornea, eyelid, globe, iris, lacrimal, lens, orbit, retina, uvea, vitreous and each disease entity listed

 

Please refer to these primary references for more detailed discussions and additional images

 

Eye-General

Normal anatomy of eye

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Anterior chamber: between iris and corneal endothelium; contains Schlemm’s canal, trabecular meshwork and aqueous humor

Micro images: anterior chamberanterior and posterior chambers

 

Bowman’s layer: see cornea

Bruch’s membrane: see uvea (choroid)

Canaliculi: see lacrimal duct / gland

Caruncle: see conjunctiva

Choriocapillaris: see uvea (choroid)

Choroid: see below

Ciliary body: see below

Conjunctiva: see below

Cornea: see below

Descemet’s membrane: see cornea

Episclera: see sclera

Eyelid: see below

Fornix: see conjunctiva

Fovea centralis: see retina

Globe: see below

Intraocular tissues: uveal tract (iris, choroid and ciliary body), retina, lens and vitreous

Iris: see below

Lacrimal duct / gland: see below

Lacrimal sac: see lacrimal duct / gland

Lamina cribrosa: see orbit and optic nerve

Lamina fusca: see sclera

Lens: see below

Limbus: see below

Macula: see retina

Macula lutea: see retina

Nasolacrimal duct: see lacrimal duct / gland

Optic nerve: see below

Ora serrata: see retina

Orbit: see below

 

 

Normal anatomy of eye (continued)

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Palpebral fissure: longitudinal opening for the eyes between the eyelids

Pars plicata: see uvea (ciliary body)

Plica semilunaris: see conjunctiva

 

Posterior chamber: space in the eye between the iris and the suspensory ligament of the lens and the ciliary processes; contains aqueous humor

Micro images: anterior and posterior chambers

 

Puncta: see lacrimal duct / gland

Pupil: see uvea (iris)

Retina: see below

Schlemm’s canal: see uvea (limbus)

Sclera: see below

Trabecular meshwork: see uvea (limbus)

Trochlea: see orbit and optic nerve

Uvea: see below

Vitreous humor: see below

Zonule: see uvea (ciliary body)

 

Drawings: schematic of eye #1#2section of eyeballanterior half of eyeposterior half of eye

Virtual slides: whole mount of eye

 

Autopsy findings of eye

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Most common findings are diabetic retinopathy (14%), age related macular degeneration (5%), melanoma of uvea or choroid, metastatic carcinoma (Archives 2001;125:1193)

Rare findings are retinitis pigmentosa

May be useful for forensic cases (Leg Med (Tokyo) 2003;5 Suppl 1:S288)

 

Trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome) and eye

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Almost all patients have severe ocular abnormalities

80% have microphthalmos (abnormally small eyes), cyclopean synophthalmus (fused eyes), colobomas, cataracts (Am J Ophthalmol 2006;141:1057), or persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous

75% have retinal dysplasia (tubular and rosette-like structures)

65% have cartilage within coloboma

60% have anterior chamber dysgenesis (defective development of cornea, iris or anterior chamber angle), often associated with congenital glaucoma

Case reports: tarsal kink (Ophthal Plast Reconstr Surg 2003;19:408)

Clinical images: cyclopia with proboscis #1#2

References: Oftalmol Zh 1990;7:423, Wikipedia, Orpha.net

 

Trisomy 21 and eye

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Less severe than trisomy 13

Hypertelorism (widely spaced eyes), lid abnormalities (oblique, arched palpebral fissures), epicanthus (vertical fold of skin on either side of nose), ectropion and eversion of upper eyelid; also keratoconus (may be due to knuckle rubbing) and retinal dysplasia

Also esotropia, significant refractive errors (43% at school age, Dev Med Child Neurol 2007;49:513), hyperemic optic disc, retinal pigment epithelial atrophy, prominent whitened choroidal vessels, chronic blepharoconjunctivitis, nasolacrimal duct obstruction (Ophthalmology 2003;110:1437)

Iris is speckled due to Brushfield spots (ringlike foci of iris hypoplasia surrounded by normal stroma), present in 85% with blue or hazel eyes (Indian Pediatr 2002;39:97), uncommon in Asian children with Down’s syndrome (Eye 2002;16:710)

Cataracts develop at age 15+ years

Recommended that Down’s patients have initial eye exam at 6 months of age, then annually

Clinical images: Brushfield spots

Molecular images: karyotype #1#2

References: eMedicine

 

Congenital rubella syndrome and eye

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Associated with cataracts (90%), iris abnormalities, retinopathy, congenital glaucoma, microphthalmos (Indian J Ophthalmol 2002;50:307)

Cataracts are due to retention of cell nucleus in lens cells

Rubella virus can survive within these cells for years; surgery on these infants may cause uveitis or endophthalmitis, due to release of virus; cataract surgery has less than optimal results (J AAPOS 2003;7:91)

Iris abnormalities include poorly developed dilator muscle and necrotic appearing epithelium; granulomatous inflammation is common; iris looks leathery since it doesn't dilate normally

Rubella retinopathy consists of alternating atrophy and hypertrophy of retinal pigment epithelium (salt and pepper appearance); may have subretinal neovascularization

Incidence of 0.6 per 1000 live births in Oman (Arch Ophthalmol 2004;122:541)

Disease persists in industrialized countries in those infected prior to 1969 vaccine (Optometry 2002;73:418)

Clinical images: bilateral cataracts

 

Cyclopia

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Congenital facial abnormality with one medial eye (either single eye or 2 fused eyeballs) and proboscis (tubular appendage) superior to the orbit

Usually associated with holoprosencephaly, due to impaired midline cleavage of embryonic forebrain

Incidence of 1 per 100K births

Incompatible with life

Associated with trisomy 13, trisomy 18, triploidy; also other chromosomal abnormalities

May be due to malfunction of sonic hedgehog protein

Case reports: Archives 2005;129:e19

Clinical images: various imagestrisomy 13 - cyclopia with proboscis #1#2

Whole mount: large eye with two lenses and two retinas

 

 

Conjunctiva

Grossing of conjunctiva

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Specimens are thin and tend to fold when placed in fixative

Surgeon should spread lesion onto filter paper, allow to dry for a few seconds, then place in specimen container (see University of Illinois at Chicago protocol)

Relevant landmarks should be labeled

For lesions that extend to limbus, cut so sections are perpendicular to limbus

Don’t use methylene blue or toluidine blue ink for margins, as they bleed into sample

Don’t place specimens on sponges, which expand in fixative and distort specimen

 

Normal anatomy / histology of conjunctiva

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Thin mucous membrane that lines inner eyelid (tarsal or palpebral portion) and anterior surface of ocular globe (bulbar portion)

Has protective function and also allows eyelids to move smoothly over globe

Has rich lymphatic channels connecting to parotid and submandibular nodes

Bulbar conjunctiva: covers anterior surface of sclera and surface epithelium of cornea; cuboidal and columnar epithelium; goblet cells more common in inferior and nasal parts, particularly near fornix; substantia propria has loose connective tissue with scattered inflammatory cells and deep dense collagen

Caruncle: small (5 x 3 mm) fleshy nodular prominence in nasal portion of interpalpebral fissure (inner angle of eye) between skin and conjunctiva; lined by conjunctival epithelium and nonkeratinized squamous epithelium; contains cutaneous adnexal structures, accessory lacrimal gland tissue

Fornix: portion of conjunctiva that forms a cul de sac where it reflects onto surface of the globe; pseudostratified columnar epithelium rich in goblet cells (may mimic dysplasia); contains accessory lacrimal tissue, ductules of main lacrimal gland and lymphoid follicles; site of sarcoid granulomas

Limbal conjunctiva: annular rim of conjunctiva extending from cornea to 3 cm on bulbar surface; contains corneal epithelial stem cells in its basal layers; also branching dendritic melanocytes

Palpebral (tarsal) conjunctiva: lines interior of eyelid; has pseudoglands of Henle (invaginations of surface epithelium that form tubular and cystic structures), hair follicles (Cornea 2006;25:781); substantia propria is more uniform than in bulbar conjunctiva and is more closely attached to tarsus (so invasive lesions appear clinically flat), has arterioles, veins and complex capillary network, myelinated and nonmyelinated branches of trigeminal nerve, lymphoid aggregates near fornices, acini and ducts of accessory lacrimal glands of Wolfring and Kraus; conjunctiva becomes papillary with allergic or bacterial conjunctivitis

Plica semilunaris (semilunar fold): arc shaped fold of conjunctiva just lateral to caruncle; may be vestigial nictitating membrane of lower species; contains abundant goblet cells and rarely cartilage or smooth muscle

Regional lymph nodes: preauricular/parotid (drains temporal lymphatics), submandibular (drains nasal and caruncle lymphatics)

Micro: mucous membrane with epithelium and substantia propria; has 2-5 layers of columnar or cuboidal cells resting on continuous basal lamina; epithelial cells may have eosinophilic cytoplasm and apical snouts; also goblet cells that secrete mucin, melanocytes (more prominent in dark skinned patients), Langerhans cells and intraepithelial lymphocytes (conjunctival associated lymphoid tissue-Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2000;41:1270)

Micro images: bulbar conjunctiva #1#2-stratified nonkeratinizing squamous epithelium with goblet cells covers a vascular lamina propriaconjunctival goblet cells (right) facing pigmented corneal epithelium (left) near junctionpalpebral conjunctiva rests upon tarsal plate

Positive stains: CK19, MUC1 and MUC4 (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2000;41:398), MUC7 (Cornea 2003;22:41); very low levels of MUC2 and MUC5AC (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2000;41:703),

Negative stains: CK3

References: Hum Path 1997;28:1348 (cytokeratin)

 

Actinic keratosis of conjunctiva

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Also called leukoplakic lesions, ultraviolet light related lesions

Usually limbal conjunctiva at advancing head of pterygium

Case reports: 73 year old man (J Fr Ophtalmol 1998;21:458), bilateral limbus lesions (J Fr Ophtalmol 1992;15:65), pigmented lesion (Korean J Pathol 2004;38:113), 42 year old man with conjunctival mass (Indian J Ophthalmol 2004;52:154)

Clinical images: elevated white limbal tumor

Gross: thickened conjunctiva with leukoplakia

Micro: sharply demarcated; mild atypia of epithelium, acanthosis, parakeratosis, hyperkeratosis but normal polarity, normal maturation; elastotic degeneration and lymphocytes in substantia propria

Micro images: mild epithelial atypia, degenerative changes in substantia propria #1#2sharply demarcated intraepithelial lesion with acanthosis, moderate atypia, parakeratosis and subepithelial actinic elastosisintraepithelial corneal lesion with severe atypia and parakeratosis #1#2acantholytic lesion with subepithelial lymphocytesatrophic lesion with atypia

DD: dysplasia (more diffuse and gelatinous, Can J Ophthalmol 1995;30:312), carcinoma in situ

 

Ataxia-telangiectasia and conjunctiva

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Autosomal recessive disease; previously called Louis-Bar syndrome

Characterized by progressive cerebellar ataxia, oculocutaneous telangiectasia and recurrent respiratory and sinus infections

Telangiectatic blood vessels in bulbar conjunctiva in >90% (Am J Ophthalmol 2002;134:891)

Mostly visible by age 4-5 years, primarily within palpebral fissure (Acta Ophthalmol Scand 2007;85:557)

Clinical images: prominent conjunctival blood vessels #1#2

References: eMedicine #1#2Atlas of Genetics and Cytogenetics

 

Benign melanosis of conjunctiva

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See also primary acquired melanosis

May be normal finding in dark skinned individuals - bilateral, continues throughout life

Present in 92% of blacks, 36% of Asians, 28% of Hispanics, 5% of whites

Uncommon finding in Laugier-Hunziker syndrome (Arch Dermatol 2007;143:631)

Clinical images: racial melanosis

Micro: dense pigmentation at basal layer of epithelium, but normal number of melanocytes

Micro images: dendritic melanocytes are present in racial melanosis 

Negative stains: HMB45 in racial melanosis (Histopathology 2001;39:426)

DD: melanocyte migration associated with inflammation or trauma, medications (epinephrine, tetracycline, silver-containing products), ochronosis, iron containing foreign bodies, early primary acquired melanosis (melanocytic proliferation is present), ocular melanocytosis (pigmentation of ocular structures due to abnormal migration of melanocytes during development)

 

Caruncle tumors

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4% of conjunctival tumors

May include any tumor type that occurs in conjunctiva, skin or lacrimal gland

Usually papilloma or nevus (Am J Ophthalmol 2006;142:448)

5% are malignant - melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma, sebaceous gland carcinoma, lymphoma

May be due to spread from other conjunctival, eyelid or lacrimal tumors

Case reports: basal cell carcinoma #1 in 80 year old man (J Cutan Pathol 2005;32:502), #2 in 82 year old man (Ophthal Plast Reconstr Surg 2006;22:313), inflammatory pseudotumor (J Fr Ophtalmol 2003;26:204), sebaceous gland carcinoma in 68 year old woman (Cornea 2006;25:858); metastasis from pulmonary large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (Am J Ophthalmol 2002;134:438)

 

Conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia

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Precursor to squamous cell carcinoma

Dysplastic changes of conjunctiva ranging from dysplasia to carcinoma in situ

Incidence of 1.9 cases per 100K per year

Associated with ocular pigmentation, tobacco use, sun exposure (Br J Ophthalmol 2003;87:396), exposure to petroleum products, chronic cyclosporine for transplants

HIV is associated with aggressive tumors presenting at younger ages

HPV 6/11 in 38%, HPV 16 in 30-58%, HPV 18 in 50-57% (Ophthalmology 2002;109:542)

Treatment: excision, but often recurs; topical interferon-alpha-2b (Ophthalmologe 2006;103:124), mitomycin (Arch Soc Esp Oftalmol 2004;79:375) or adjuvant cryotherapy reduces recurrence rate; usually does not become invasive with recurrence; amniotic membrane grafts may be useful (Chang Gung Med J 2003;26:737)

Gross: sharply circumscribed limbus lesion; annular and gelatinous; may see delicate epithelial proliferation of cornea with indirect illumination

Micro: sharply circumscribed atypia; dysplasia begins in basal layers and extends towards surface; large or small squamous cells, may be spindled; often atypical mitotic figures at all levels of epithelium; fronds of proliferating blood vessels and connective tissue resemble papilloma; rarely HPV related changes (koilocytes); usually NO keratinization or dyskeratosis; no invasion of epithelial basal membrane

Positive stains: p53, Ki-67, HPV

DD: UV related lesions (without dysplasia), sebaceous gland carcinoma, adenocarcinoma from eyelid glands of Moll, melanosis

 

Cystinosis of conjunctiva

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Must fix tissue in absolute alcohol, not formalin, or crystals will be dissolved

Micro images: cystinosis in conjunctiva of child

DD: gout, hypergammaglobulinemia

 

Cysts of conjunctiva

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See also steatocystoma simplex

Most are acquired due to surgery (Ophthalmology 2006;113:1049), trauma (Br J Anaesth 2005;95), foreign bodies or chronic inflammation; also parasitic cysts

Usually on nasal conjunctiva and lower fornix

Most (65%) conjunctival nevi are also cystic (Curr Opin Ophthalmol 2007;18:351)

Cyst may be injected with Healon V and trypan blue to facilitate visualization and excision (Cornea 2005;24:759)

Dermoid cysts: lined by stratified squamous epithelium, contains cutaneous adnexae (Ophthal Plast Reconstr Surg 2006;22:137); see also dermoid tumor below

Inclusion cysts: one or two cell lining of non-keratinized epithelium containing goblet cells; may have apocrine snouts resembling apocrine glands; may be associated with Stevens-Johnson syndrome (Ophthal Plast Reconstr Surg 2006;22:475)

Clinical images: multiloculated cyst post-anesthetic injectionlarge cyst

Gross: usually translucent to light blue

 

Dermoid tumor and other congenital lesions of conjunctiva

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A type of choristoma (congenital, non-neoplastic lesion composed of cytologically normal tissue not normally found at that location), often at limbus

Mainly children

No malignant potential

May be associated with colobomas of iris and ciliary body, Goldenhar’s syndrome (ocular dermoid tumors, extra-auricular appendages, vertebral anomalies, East Afr Med J 2002;79:502), organoid nevus syndrome (also called linear nevus sebaceous of Jadassohn, Br J Ophthalmol 1987;71:268)

Gross: bulbar tumors are firm, localized, elevated, opaque, yellow-white masses at limbus

Micro:

Dermoid: solid (not cystic) choristoma mass with surface epithelium resembling epidermis and dermis and containing a few hairs, overlying thick bundles of collagen, which make up bulk of mass (eMedicine)

Complex choristoma: cartilage, lacrimal tissue, smooth muscle, adipose tissue, neural tissue (Ophthalmology 1987;94:1249); may be confused with prolapsed lacrimal gland (Acta Ophthalmol Scand 2005;83:100)

Osseous choristoma: small, solid, circumscribed, red-white bony lesion behind limbus and between superior and lateral rectus muscles; composed of compact lamellar bone surrounded by dense, collagenous bone (Br J Ophthalmol 1979;63:173, Ophthalmic Surg Lasers 2002;33:410)