Krukenberg's spindle

spindle /spin·dle/ (spin´d'l)

1. a pin tapered at both ends.

2. the fusiform figure occurring during metaphase of cell division, composed of microtubules radiating from the centrioles and connecting to the chromosomes at their centromeres.

3. a type of brain wave occurring on the electroencephalogram in groups at a frequency of about 14 per second, usually while the patient is falling asleep.

4. muscle s.

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Krukenberg's spindle  a spindle-shaped, brownish-red opacity of the cornea.

mitotic spindle  spindle (2).

muscle spindle  a fusiform end organ arranged in parallel between the fibers of skeletal muscle and acting as a mechanoreceptor, being the receptor of impulses responsible for the stretch reflex.

Diagrammatic cross-section of a muscle spindle showing the intrafusal fibers and afferent and efferent endings.

nuclear spindle  spindle (2).

tendon spindle  Golgi tendon organ.

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Krukenberg's spindle

n.

A vertical fusiform area of melanin pigmentation on the posterior surface of the cornea in the pupillary area.

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Krukenberg's spindle

A more or less vertical spindle-shaped deposition of brownish pigment on the corneal endothelium. It is often accompanied by pigment deposits on the lens, zonule, anterior surface of the iris and trabecular meshwork and may form part of the pigment dispersion syndrome. The pigment comes from the iris pigment epithelium, but the cause of its shedding is not established and may be strenuous exercise, mechanical rubbing by the zonules due to posterior bowing of part of the iris or degenerated pigment. It occurs in young to middle-aged myopic individuals and sometimes following uveitis.