Abstract

A study of almost 1000 outpatients at a London eye hospital showed the presence of asymptomatic yellowish, spheroidal deposits in the peripheral cornea or conjunctiva, or both, in about 6 per cent, with a preponderance of males and older subjects among those affected. This prevalence is less than is observed in people in countries exposed to higher levels of sunlight. Histological study of the deposits showed some tinctorial similarities with pseudoelastic fibres of pingueculae, with which they were sometimes associated, but also significant differences suggesting that the spheroidal deposits might be a composite of degenerate collagen and a second non-collagenous protein. Until a more precise terminology is feasible we suggest that a purely descriptive name such as spheroidal degeneration or droplet keratopathy should be used to describe this entity.