ripe cataract

cataract /cat·a·ract/ (-rakt) an opacity of the crystalline lens of the eye or its capsule.catarac´tous

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after-cataract  a recurrent capsular cataract.

atopic cataract  cataract in those with long-standing atopic dermatitis.

black cataract  see senile nuclear sclerotic c.

blue cataract , blue dot cataract blue punctate opacities scattered throughout the nucleus and cortex of the lens.

brown cataract , brunescent cataract see senile nuclear sclerotic c.

capsular cataract  one consisting of an opacity in the lens capsule.

complicated cataract  secondary c.

congenital cataract 

1. cataract present at birth, usually bilaterally; it may be mild or severe and may or may not impair vision depending on size, density, and location.

2. developmental c.

coronary cataract  tiny white opacities in a ring around the lens, the center and periphery of the lens remaining clear.

cortical cataract 

1. developmental punctate opacity common in the cortex and present in most lenses. The cataract is white or cerulean, increases in number with age, but rarely affects vision.

2. the most common senile cataract; white, wedgelike opacities are like spokes around the periphery of the cortex.

cupuliform cataract  a senile cataract in the posterior cortex of the lens just under the capsule.

developmental cataract  a type of small cataract in youth, resulting from heredity, malnutrition, toxicity, or inflammation, seldom affecting vision.

electric cataract  one occurring after an electric shock, especially to the head. Anterior subcapsular cataracts may form and develop within days; slowly developing or stationary opacities may follow a shock not to the head.

glassblowers' cataract , heat cataract posterior subcapsular opacities caused by chronic exposure to infrared (heat) radiation.

hypermature cataract  one with a swollen, milky cortex, the result of autolysis of the lens fibers of a mature cataract.

lamellar cataract  one affecting only certain layers between the cortex and nucleus of the lens.

mature cataract  one producing swelling and opacity of the entire lens.

membranous cataract  a condition in which the lens substance has shrunk, leaving remnants of the capsule and fibrous tissue formation.

morgagnian cataract  a mature cataract in which the cortex has liquefied and the nucleus moves freely within the lens.

nuclear cataract  one in which the opacity is in the central nucleus of the eye.

overripe cataract  hypermature c.

polar cataract  one at the center of the anterior (anterior polar c.) or posterior (posterior polar c.) pole of the lens.

pyramidal cataract  a conoid anterior cataract with its apex projecting forward into the aqueous humor.

radiation cataract  one caused by ionizing radiation, e.g., x-rays, or by nonionizing radiation, e.g., infrared (heat) rays, ultraviolet rays, microwaves.

ripe cataract  mature c.

secondary cataract  one resulting from disease, e.g., iridocyclitis; degeneration, e.g., chronic glaucoma, retinal detachment; or from surgery, e.g., glaucoma filtering, retinal reattachment.

senile cataract  cataract in the elderly.

senile nuclear sclerotic cataract  slowly increasing hardening of the nucleus, usually bilateral and brown or black, with the lens becoming inelastic and unable to accommodate.

snowflake cataract , snowstorm cataract one marked by gray or blue to white flaky opacities, seen in young diabetics.

total cataract  an opacity of all the fibers of a lens.

toxic cataract  that due to exposure to a toxic drug, e.g., naphthalene.

traumatic cataract  one due to injury to the eye.

zonular cataract  lamellar c.

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ripe cataract

Etymology: OE, ripan + Gk, katarrhaktes, portcullis

a mature cataract that produces swelling and opacity of the entire lens. Also called mature cataract.