Q15: Other congenital malformations of eye

Q15.0: Congenital glaucoma

Glaucoma is an eye disorder. There are two chambers in the front of the eye. Aqueous humor flows through these chambers to nourish certain parts of the eye. The aqueous fluid maintains the pressure inside the eye. The pressure inside your eye has increased. This can happen if, for example, parts of the eye did not form correctly while developing in the womb. Intraocular pressure can increase if parts of the eye were inflamed or damaged.

The increase in intraocular pressure can damage the optic nerve. The optic nerve is located behind the retina. The retina is a layer inside the eye. It contains a lot of sensory cells that can perceive light. There are sensory cells for colors and sensory cells for light and dark. The sensory cells pass the information on to the nerve cells in the optic nerve.

If a case of glaucoma is congenital, the affected eye typically gets significantly bigger. The flow of tears may increase and the eyelid may spasm. The affected eye can redden and be very sensitive to light. If the disorder is very advanced, blindness can result.