Ectopic intraocular lacrimal gland tissue.

Ectopic lacrimal gland tissue is rarely found within the eye. The first report was that of Puech (i 887) who described an adenoma of the choroid in an adult female. The lesion had the appearance of lacrimal gland tissue which was adherent to the sclera and the retina. After an interval of 65 years Christensen and Anderson (I 952) described ectopic lacrimal gland tissue within the sclera, ciliary body, limbus, and iris in an infant of 2 weeks. Bruce (I 952) described a case in the iris of a 2-month-old boy who was 2 weeks premature. No other abnormalities were noted in these infants. Hunter (i 960) described a fourth case in which ectopic cystic lacrimal gland tissue was seen in the ciliary body, iris, and sclera. The fifth case was described by Dallachy (i96i) in a 2-month-old female infant; ectopic lacrimal gland tissue was seen in the ciliary body and iris. A search of the literature since I96I revealed only one other case of intraocular lacrimal gland tissue (Green and Zimmerman, I967); their patient was a s-month-old child with ectopic lacrimal gland tissue in the limbal area and a nodule of similar tissue in the chamber angle, on the anterior surface of the iris, and in the ciliary body. The purpose of this paper is to record a seventh case of intraocular ectopic lacrimal gland tissue.