The episclera is the outermost layer of the
sclera (the white of the eye).
[Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company, 1990.] It is composed of loose, fibrous, elastic tissue and attaches to
Tenon's capsule
Tenon's capsule (), also known as the Tenon capsule, fascial sheath of the eyeball () or the fascia bulbi, is a thin membrane which envelops the eyeball from the optic nerve to the corneal limbus, separating it from the orbital fat and forming a s ...
.
A vascular plexus is found between the
bulbar conjunctiva and the sclera consisting of two layers of vessels, the superficial episcleral vessels and the deep episcleral vessels.
Clinical significance
In
episcleritis
Episcleritis is a benign, self-limiting inflammatory disease affecting part of the eye called the episclera. The episclera is a thin layer of tissue that lies between the conjunctiva and the connective tissue layer that forms the white of the e ...
, the episclera and Tenon's capsule are infiltrated with inflammatory cells.
[Heath, G]
"The episclera, sclera and conjunctiva: An overview of relevant ocular anatomy."
''OT''. February 10, 2006.
References
Human eye anatomy
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