OPHTHALMIA (Lat., front Gk. OckOaXp.la, disease of the eyes, front 60aXp.6s, oph(halmos, .ye: connected with 6rwra, opopa, I have seen, 'acme, ossc, the two eyes, Lat. oculus, ()Church Slay. oko, Skt. akfan, OHG. ()nip, Ger. ..lugc, Goth. (Ingo, AS. Ouye, Eng. eye). A term origi nally used to denote inflammation of the eye gen erally, and still employed in that sense at times, but now usually restricted to designate intlamma tory affections of the conjunctiva or mucous coat of the eye. (See CONJuNcn vrris.) thetic oplitImlinia is, however, a term applied to describe an inflammation in one eye due to a similar inflammation of the other. This usually follows perforation by foreign bodies or ulcer of the cornea, or operations in the ciliary region. The sympathizing eye is usually affected about live to eight weeks after the injury of the excit ing eye. After one or more periods of irritability 'of the sympathizing eye, marked by dread of light, pain in the eye, laehrymation. and dimness
of vision, the sympathetic inflammation comes on. Removal of the exciting eye before this takes place will prevent its occurrence. The course of the sympathetic inflammation is slow and it. usu ally results in blindness in sonic months or one or two years. The cause of sympathetic ophthal mia is not positively known, but it is probably due to extension of infection through the sheath of one optic nerve by way of the optic chiasin to that of the nerve of the other eye. (See EYE.) Treatment consists in the removal of the exciting eye before the sympathetic inflammation de velops; after this period it is of no avail. If the injured eye, however, possesses good vision, it is often advisable not to excise it as long as there are no signs of trouble in the other. The inflam mation itself is treated as in cases due to other causes. See buns.