CONJUNCTIVAL AND CORNEAL LESIONS IN HYPERCALCEMIA*

Abstract
Distinctive crystals were observed in the eyes of 8 patients with hypercalcemia. The crystals cannot be identified with the naked eye so that examination with the slit lamp is necessary. Biopsy of one case was studied at the Johns Hopkins Univ. and the crystals reported to be Ca phosphate. The crystals are clear and not at all like the grayish patches sometimes seen extending superficially over a pterygium. The lesions occur in instances of hyper-parathyroidism and vit. D poisoning. In some instances, the deposits disappeared after the metabolic disturbance was corrected. Why the conjunctival and corneal membranes should be so involved is not clear. The factor common to patients seems to be hypercalcemia, the serum P levels having been normal, high and low. Search for such lesions by ophthalmologists may uncover cases with hypercalcemia which otherwise would have been overlooked by the internist.