CHOROIDITIS. 



Causes : as in iritis : traumatic and infective. Exudative. Suppurative. 

 Symptoms : as in iritis : less change in iris and of flocculi in the aqueous 

 humor ; opacity of lens and vitreous. Lack lustre choroid under ophthal- 

 moscope, uneven, detached. Suppurative form : early profuse weeping, 

 bleeding, later suppuration, pus oozing from orifice; panophthalmitis. 

 Treatment : as in iritis ; atropia ; cocaine ; astringents ; purgatives ; 

 diuretics. 



Causes. These are largely the same as tliose of iritis and cy- 

 clitis. Blows, traumas, foreign bodies, sand, cinders, dust, lime, 

 fierce light, reflection from snow, water, etc., chills, draughts, 

 storms, irritant gases, and a number of specific diseases like in- 

 fluenza, contagious pneumonia, canine distemper, rheumatism, 

 omphalitis, pyaemia, etc., may be named. It is a common lesion 

 of recurrent ophthalmia in horses, and is not unknown in tuber- 

 culous cattle. It is usually more or less involved in iritis, as 

 the iris is in choroiditis. The name given to the di.sea.se which 

 involves both, will depend mainly on whether the inflammation 

 predominates in the iris or choroid. Mayer divides it into exu- 

 dative and suppurative, the latter being a common result of 

 trauma, and likely to issue in panophthalmitis. 



Sympioms , These are largely those of iritis. The congestion 

 and redness of the sclerotic around the margin of the cornea, the 

 fact that the enlarged vessels are firm in the sclera and not easily 

 moved as in conjunctival congestion, and a certain partial blind- 

 ness, without much change in the brilliancy of the iris, or opacity 

 or flocculi of the aqueous humor, would suggest choroiditis, 

 lyater some opacity of the lens, or its capsule or of the vitreous 

 humor would be equally significant. 



The only certain manifestations would be such as are found on 

 ophthalmoscopic examination. Swelling and unevenness of the 

 inner surface of the choroid, and a loss of luster, a change of its 

 dark .surface to light colored .spots and patches, (dull-red, yellow- 

 ish red, grayish green) and of the tapetum lucidum to a dirty 

 grayish green in solipeds. Areas of minute blood clot may also 

 be seen. But these are rarelj^ recognized or indeed skillfully 

 sought during life, and it is mainly to necropsies that we owe most 

 of our diagnosis of choroiditis in the lower animals. 

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