Abstract
Examination of the sympathizing eye was made in 13 cases of sympathetic ophthalmitis. Iridocyclitis was constantly found. In 7 cases the infiltration was confined to lymphocytes and plasma cells. In 6 cases epithelioid cells were present also, and in 3 of these giant cells occurred. The infiltration in the iris was not limited to the posterior layers. No Fuchs-Dalen bodies were seen. The choroid was affected in 8 cases, the infiltration being localized to the outer layers, especially near the optic disc. Epithelioid cells occurred in the choroid in 2 cases and giant cells in 1 case. There were constantly some inflammatory cells in the vitreous. The optic nerve was edematous in 8 cases with lymphocytic infiltration of the sheaths of the central vessels. The nerve was infiltrated in only 1 case. The sheaths of the ciliary vessels were infiltrated in 4 cases. Spontaneous rupture of the lens capsule occurred in 3 cases. An organized plastic exudate was found in the anterior chamber in 3 cases, and this appeared to be part of the specific process and not, as has been previously postulated, due to a secondary infection. The character of the inflammatory changes in general were unrelated to the duration of the disease and to the period of time which elapsed between the injury to the exciting eye and the onset of the sympathetic ophthalmitis.