340 On the Staphylomay Hydr ophthalmia. 



Infants are sometimes born with eyes remarkably large 

 and prominent. But it" they do not give by their pressure, 

 nor interfere with the free motion of the eyelids, and if at 

 ihe same lin)e the cornea be transparent and ihe sight per- 

 ieet, the mere circmnsiance of their prominence does not 

 call for any particular attention. Sometimes, however, 

 the eyes of infants, at the time of their birtii, are not only 

 remarkably preeminent, but the cornea of one or both is 

 universally opake, without any accompanying inflanmiation 

 in the conjunctiva, or any, morbid (Hschargc IVom the eyes. 

 Of this I have seen several instances, three of which hap- 

 pened in one family. These were more directly under the 

 care of Mr. Farrer, a surgeon, resident at that time at Dept- 

 ford. He has described them with accuracy in the second 

 volume of Medical Communications, page .i63, published 

 in London in 179O. The opacity gradually diminished; 

 and in less than a year, in-two of them, it was quite removed. 

 In the third the cornea did not resume its transparency until 

 the end of the second year. The amendment in these in- 

 stances cannot l)e attributed to any particular remedies, since 

 none were used; but it was owing to the vis vaturce medi- 

 catrix, which in infants, in this disorder, as it also is iu 

 many others, is often cfFeciual to restore a healthy state. 

 Mr. Farrer does not mention any particular prominence in 

 the eyes of these children; but, having seen two of them 

 shortly after the time when Mr. Farrer drew up the ac- 

 count of the cases, I find by a minute I then made, that 

 the cornea appeared to me remarkably prominent ; and 

 that, though the children had recovered a distinct vision, 

 they were all short-sighted. — Another case of a similar kind 

 came under my notice about three years ago, in the new- 

 born infant of a respectable farmer in Essex. Both corneae 

 were completely opake, and both were large and prominent. 

 In this instance, as in those last mentioned, no applications 

 were used with sufficient steadiness to allow me to attribute 

 any considerable degree of efficacy to them; notwithstand- 

 ing which, when about four months ago the child was 

 again brought to me, I h id the satisfaction to see the left 

 cornea sufficiently clear to allow the perception of all large 

 objects; the opacity of the right cornea being also dimi- 

 nished round its outer edge, though the greatest part of the 

 pupil was still :>bscured. I was consulted in a filth case of 

 the same kind about a vear ago. It occurred in the infant 

 of a gentleman in Portman-squarc. Here, as in the other 

 instances, the corneae of both eyes, at the time of birth, 

 were large and prominent^ and they were at the same time 



completely 



