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Cloudy cornea - Overview

Alternative Names

Corneal opacification; Corneal edema

Definition of Cloudy cornea:

A cloudy cornea is a loss of transparency of the cornea.

Common Causes:

The cornea is normally a nearly invisible, clear structure covering the iris of the eye. Its two purposes are to transmit and focus the light entering the eye.

Causes of cloudy cornea include:

Chemical burns to the cornea
Herpetic keratoconjunctivitis (a form of conjunctivitis caused by herpes simplex)
Infectious diseases
Poor nutrition
River blindness (onchocerciasis -- an infection common in parts of Africa)
Several rare inherited diseases involving abnormal metabolism
Sjogren syndrome
Trachoma
Trauma
Vitamin A deficiency

Clouding leads to varying degrees of vision loss.

Eye

Cloudy cornea

Reviewed last on: 7/15/2008
Linda Vorvick, MD, Seattle Site Coordinator, Lecturer, Pathophysiology, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Crouch JR ER, Crouch ER, Grant T. Ophthalmology. In: Rakel RE. Rakel: Textbook of Family Medicine. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007: chap 53.

Brunette DD. Ophthalmology. In: Marx JA. Marx: Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby; 2006: chap 70.

Newlin AC, Sugar J. Corneal and External Eye Manifestations of Systemic Disease. In: Yanoff M, Duker JS, Augsburger JJ, Azar DT. Yanoff: Opthalmology. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby; 2004: chap 66.

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