The Head and Neck 49 



Treatment. When the disease is confined to the anterior 

 chamber, antiseptic irrigation is indicated, and when the entire or- 

 gan is implicated there is nothing to do but to practise early enu- 

 cleation. 



GLAUCOMA. 



Glaucoma is a disease in which there is an augmentation of 

 the intraocular fluids, and as a consequence, increased intraocular 

 tension. It may arise as a primary affection or secondarily as a 

 complication of some other pre-existing disease. Acute, subacute, 

 and chronic types are recognized. The disease is most often seen 

 in aged animals and is more common in females than in males. 



Symptoms and Diagnosis. Attention is usually first drawn to 

 the condition by a haziness or opacity of the cornea which is more 

 pronounced in the center than at the periphery, and by injection 

 of the conjunctival veins. On palpating the ball with the finger-tips 

 a hard feeling is imparted and usually the cornea is devoid of 

 sensation owing to the edema. There is no reflex movement of the 

 lids though compression of the globe itself may be painful. The 

 pupil is dilated and moves sluggishly, and the iris is discolored. 

 The pressure of the increased fluid in the posterior portion of the 

 globe forces the lens and periphery of the iris forward so that the 

 depth of the anterior chamber is depreciated. Vision is partly or 

 wholly inhibited and the eye slowly atrophies. 



Treatment. The results of treatment are rarely satisfactory 

 and a guarded prognosis should always be given. Myotics are in- 

 dicated, instillations of solutions of eserine (1:300) or pilocarpine 

 ( 1 : 200) being employed every two or three hours. Eserine has 

 the additional advantage of diminishing abnormal intraocular ten- 

 sion. Brisk purgatives should also be administered. Should these 

 measures fail, the only alternative is to practice partial iridectomy 

 as is done in the human subject with variable success, about one- 

 fifth of the muscle being removed up to the ciliary border. 



HTDROPHTHALMIA. 



This condition — so-called dropsy of the eye— is one of ex- 

 cessive secretion of the aqueous humor. It differs from Glaucoma 

 in that the cornea and sclerotic become distended. It is most com-. 



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