Conjunctival and corneal lesions in hypercalcemia.

THE hypercalcemia, which accompanies certain disease states and may be the clue to the diagnosis of the underlying pathological physiology, is often overlooked by the clinician. The reasons for this are not far to seek, since the symptoms referrable to hypercalcemia per se are usually nondescript and common to many disease patterns—namely, fatigue and vague muscle and bone pains, nausea with or without vomiting, and polyuria (1). In the past few years we have observed, in approximately one-half the patients with hypercalcemia, distinctive phenomena in the eyes which are believed to be the direct result of the hypercalcemia. These observations, together with a brief discussion of the possible mechanism of their production and of their diagnostic value, form the basis of this report. DESCRIPTION OF LESIONS Two distinct types of ocular abnormalities have been observed; one in the conjunctiva, the other in the cornea. Neither can be identified except with the aid of the slit lamp. The conjunctival lesions app...