50 
Exwimiation of an Albhiotic Eije 
as those of a normal blue or brown eye. The nuclei of a number of the cells 
are clearly visible (Fig. A), whilst in a normal eye (Fig. B) they cannot be 
distinguished because of the dense pigmentation. The pigmented derivatives 
of the epiblastic layers, V. Michel's and Fuch's spurs at the region of the sphincter 
muscle, and Grunert's spur at the root of the iris, ai'e feebly I'epresented, and no 
round clump cells are present. The ciliary body epithelial pigment layer contains 
less pigment than that in a normal eye, and the nuclei of S(jme of its cells are 
visible. This layer contains, however, much pigment and terminates posteriorly 
at the ora serrata in the feebly pigmented hexagonal cells of the retina. The 
stroma of the ciliary body contains no pigment. The choroid is devoid of pigment, 
except at the macular region, where there are a few pigmented chromatophores. 
The hexagonal cells of the retina are considerably less pigmented than those in 
a normal eye. They are darker at the macula than in the region surrounding it. 
They contain elongated pigment granules. The retina has several layers of 
ganglion cells at the macula as in normal eyes, but in none of the sections is 
there a fovea visible*. The nuclear layers are both present in every section 
and neither of them disappears at any point, and the same holds good for the 
ganglion cell layers. The elements composing the bacillary layer have undergone 
post-mortem change, which makes it impossible to state what their condition was 
during life. 
The distribution of pigment then in this eye as regards the retinal epithelium, 
is the same as in a normal eye, but it is less in quantity. Mesoblastic pigmentation 
is entirely absent in the iris, ciliai-y body and most of the choroid, only a few cells 
at the macular region contain any pigment. In all these respects this eye re- 
sembles the case published by Nettleship (6), in which, however, there was rather 
more choroidal pigment, some of it lying in the parts of the choroid away from 
the macular region. It resembles it also in that no proper fovea is found in the 
sections. Fritsch(7) found the fovea imperfectly developed in the retina of an 
albinotic Herero. And in Elschnig's case there was no fovea, rods as well as cones 
were present at the macula, and the hexagonal cells contained no needle-shaped 
granules. 
These four cases appear to be the only ones in albinos in which the fovea 
was looked for microscopically, and in none of them was it found fully developed. 
Absence of the fovea has been recorded by Seefelder (10) in a case of aniridia with 
nystagmus. In a case of hereditary nystagmus (14), seen by myself, in a child 
aged 2 years, with blond skin, yellow brown hair, lashes and eyebrows, and with 
constant lateral nystagmus, no proper fovea could be found in either eye. The 
retinal epithelium was normally pigmented throughout, and pigmented chromato- 
phores were present in the choroid and in small numbers in the iris. Since Fritsch 
and Elschnig published their cases, Ichikawa (19), with Elschnig, examined the 
macular region of six albinos with the ophthalmoscope and found that there was 
* A puzzling appearance seen in a few consecutive sections can be explained by a folding of the 
retina, and it is difficult to conceive how a normal fovea could escape detection even at this part. 
