PRIMARY ANGLE-CLOSURE GLAUCOMA: FAMILY HISTORIES AND ANTERIOR CHAMBER DEPTHS

Abstract

THAT acute congestive glaucoma occurs in eyes with a recognizable anatomical predisposition has been known for many years Shallowness of the anterior chamber appeared to be an important factor, and Rosengren (1930, 1931, 1950) presented convincing statistical evidence that this was so. The development of gonioscopy showed that a narrow angle of the anterior chamber accompanies a shallow anterior chamber The members of the C.I.O.M.S. Symposium on Glaucoma (Duke-Elder, 1955) adopted the term "Closed-Angle Glaucoma" (frequently changed to "Angle- Closure Glaucoma") indicating the necessity for this form of glaucoma to be caused by apposition of the iris to the angle wall irrespective of the depth of the anterior chamber and the width of the angle. Nevertheless, in the overwhelming majority of cases of primary angle-closure glaucoma, the anterior chamber is shallow and the angle is narrow-so much so that the diagnosis should be very carefully reviewed if examination shows an anterior chamber of normal depth (and an angle of normal width in the other eye).