OMSB Selection ExamSign in

Curriculum · ENT, Ophthalmology, and Dermatology

Dacryoadenitis

What it is

Dacryoadenitis is inflammation of the lacrimal gland, which sits in the outer third of the upper eyelid.

Causes and risk

The acute causes are S. aureus, mumps, EBV, herpes zoster and N. gonorrhoeae. The chronic causes, which are often bilateral, are lymphoma, leukemia, sarcoidosis, tuberculosis and thyroid ophthalmopathy. So when the gland is enlarged on both sides, the chronic causes are the differential diagnosis to work through.