CORNEAL ULCERATION. 
53 
solid. Quite often all there can be seen is a corneal opacity and 
the ulcer, or ulcers are not detected unless a solution of fluores¬ 
cein or some other coloring agent be employed. A superficial 
ulcer usually leaves no permanent cicatrix; deep ulcers leave 
permanent cicatrices. 
Perforation of the cornea, with infection of aqueous humor 
and iris, is quite common and very serious, and requires prompt 
surgical or therapeutical treatment. 
Perforation may be spontaneous, or it may be preceded by the 
protrusion of Descemet’s membrane through the ulcer simulat¬ 
ing a small vesicle. Sometimes the iris protrudes; is carried by 
the aqueous humor during its escape. Eye feels soft and the 
cornea wrinkled; in other words, anterior chamber collapses. 
There is obliteration of the anterior chamber, with apposition of 
the cornea, iris and capsule of crystalline lens. 
After cicatrization of the ulcer, the iris may regain its nor¬ 
mal position. But frequently the prolapsed iris adheres to the 
corneal cicatrix, and this constitutes anterior synechia. The ad¬ 
hesion of the iris may be partial and the pupil misshaped on 
account of it, or it may be.complete, especially at margin of 
pupil, causing exclusion and occlusion of the pupil. 
Dislocation of the lens at the time of perforation is quite 
common. It happens most frequently, I believe, in enzootic con¬ 
junctivitis of cattle, or, at least, this has been my experience. 
Sometimes quite a number in a small herd will lose .their vision 
in this way. The lens is dislocated antero-inferiorly in aqueous 
chamber; in fact, it quite often protrudes through the perfora¬ 
tion. Frequently, after cicatrization of the perforation and the 
anterior chamber has been re-established, the lens recedes and 
regains its normal position. However, there is often a prolifera¬ 
tion of the subcapsular epithelium; which has become irritated 
by the pressure of the lens upon the cornea, forming a white spot 
upon its anterior surface, known as anterior capsular cataract. 
Iridocyclitis and panophthalmitis are serious complications 
that often follow perforation, especially if the suppurative pro¬ 
cess be a virulent one. Occasionally, but not often, a corneal 
