Anomalous lacrimal ductule. Case report and review.

THE discharge of tears from an abnormally placed orifice was first reported by Sir William Mackenzie (1830). In his case the cutaneous orifice lay close to the lacrimal gland and appears to have been a fistula of the lacrimal gland itself. Over fifty years later Moritz (1898) reported a cutaneous orifice discharging tears and placed at some distance from the lacrimal gland complex. This latter condition has been reported infrequently, usually as a congenital fistula. Duke-Elder (1964), however, calls this an anomalous lacrimal ductule and this seems to be a better name as it differentiates this condition from a fistula of the lacrimal gland. The rarity of this condition warrants the report of a further case.