Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Weerakkody Y, Elfeky M, Knipe H, et al. Anophthalmia. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 23 Feb 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-15230
Anophthalmia refers to a complete absence of ocular development. It is often considered to represent the most severe form of microphthalmia.
Pathology
Anophthalmia can occur in three situations:
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primary anophthalmia: complete absence of eye tissue due to a failure of the part of the brain that forms the eye
occurs from arrested development of the eyes in the early 4th week of gestation 6
rare: 0.18-0.4 cases per 10,000 births 6
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secondary anophthalmia: there is initial eye development which halts for some reason leaving behind only residual eye tissue or extremely small eyes which can only be seen under close examination
degenerative anophthalmia: there is initial ocular development but again for some reason starts to degenerate - possibly from lack of blood supply to the eye
Associations
Recognized associations are many and include:
History and etymology
It derives from the Greek word: ανόφθαλμος (anophthalmos) meaning "without eye".
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2. Daxecker F, Felber S. Magnetic resonance imaging features of congenital anophthalmia. Ophthalmologica. 1993;206 (3): 139-42. - Pubmed citation
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4. Aktekin M, Oz O, Saygili MR et-al. Bilateral congenital anophthalmos and agenesis of the optic pathways. Yonsei Med. J. 2005;46 (2): 296-9. Yonsei Med. J. (link) - Free text at pubmed - Pubmed citation
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5. Nyberg DA, McGahan JP, Pretorius DH. Diagnostic imaging of fetal anomalies. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. (2003) ISBN:0781732115. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
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6. Nagarajan M, Sharbidre KG, Bhabad SH, Byrd SE. MR Imaging of the Fetal Face: Comprehensive Review. (2018) Radiographics : a review publication of the Radiological Society of North America, Inc. 38 (3): 962-980. doi:10.1148/rg.2018170142 - Pubmed
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