Enophthalmos is a posterior displacement of the
eyeball within the orbit. It is due to either enlargement of the bony orbit and/or reduction of the orbital content, this in relation to each other.
It should not be confused with its opposite,
exophthalmos
Exophthalmos (also called exophthalmus, exophthalmia, proptosis, or exorbitism) is a bulging of the eye anteriorly out of the orbit. Exophthalmos can be either bilateral (as is often seen in Graves' disease) or unilateral (as is often seen in ...
, which is the anterior displacement of the eye.
It may be a
congenital
A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities can ...
anomaly, or be acquired as a result of
trauma
Trauma most often refers to:
* Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source
* Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event
*Traumatic i ...
(such as in a blowout fracture of the orbit),
Horner's syndrome
Horner's syndrome, also known as oculosympathetic paresis, is a combination of symptoms that arises when a group of nerves known as the sympathetic trunk is damaged. The signs and symptoms occur on the same side (ipsilateral) as it is a lesion ...
(apparent enophthalmos due to
ptosis),
Marfan syndrome,
Duane's syndrome
Duane syndrome is a congenital rare type of strabismus most commonly characterized by the inability of the human eye, eye to move outward. The syndrome was first described by ophthalmologists Jakob Stilling (1887) and Siegmund Türk (1896), and s ...
,
silent sinus syndrome
Silent sinus syndrome is a spontaneous, asymptomatic collapse of an air sinus (usually the maxillary sinus and orbital floor) associated with negative sinus pressures. It can cause painless facial asymmetry, diplopia and enophthalmos. Diagnosis ...
or
phthisis bulbi
Phthisis bulbi is a shrunken, non-functional eye. It may result from severe eye disease, inflammation or injury, or it may represent a complication of eye surgery. Treatment options include insertion of a prosthesis, which may be preceded by e ...
.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Disorders of eyelid, lacrimal system and orbit
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