Green cataract

Abstract

The green cataract seen in the 16th to 18th centuries was reinterpreted in the 19th century (on the basis of pathological examinations) to be a greenish color of the light returning through the pupil in an eye with absolute glaucoma and not due to a greenish discoloration of a cataract. Were the older observers in error? It seems unlikely. This article presents photographs of true green cataracts--ie, opaque lenses of greenish color--from my own practice; a published photograph of a green cataract; and histopathological documentation of the cause, iron (blood pigment).