ABSTRACT
Uveitis is an intraocular inflammation involving primarily the uveal tract, an intraocular structure derived from embryonic mesoderm and neural crest. The iris, ciliary body, and choroid of the eye can have various degrees of involvement. Visual loss often depends on the affected intraocular structure(s) and the type and severity of uveitis. Inflammation in these individual regions can be induced by autoimmune disease, malignancy, infection or trauma to the eye. Most forms of idiopathic uveitis appear to be immune-mediated. Posterior and panuveitis may involve T cells, but inflammatory conditions presenting with anterior uveitis may be B-cell mediated. For instance, sympathetic ophthalmia (SO) and Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease (VKH) show features consistent with T-cell disorders; phacoantigenic uveitis (PU) seems to occur secondary to immune complex formation; and Fuchs heterochromic iridocyclitis (FHI) may be B-cell mediated.
