Protruding nictitating membrane (third eyelid)
Differential diagnosis
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A. van Praag Left:
healthy eye, with barely visible third eyelid. The brown color at the edge of
the eyelid is seen in most rabbits Right:
Protruding third eyelid in a stressed rabbit |
The protruding nictitating membrane
(third eyelid) may be unilateral or bilateral.
It may be accompanied by enophthalmia (sunken eye).
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Bacterial infection |
Conjunctivitis, accompanied by purulent, fibrotic, granular
inflammation of the third eyelid |
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Osteomyelitis, infection of the bone of the cheek bone |
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Respiratory distress |
Lower respiratory tract infection, e.g., pneumonia
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Thymoma, or benign
tumor of the thymus gland, leading to compression of the lungs |
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“Mechanical”
causes |
Prolapse of the Harderian gland or “Cherry eye”
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Atrophy of the eyeball
mass |
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Presence of a foreign body |
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Physiologic causes |
Pain, may be accompanied by prolapse. Including pain related to
disorders of the digestive tract, e.g., ileus, diarrhea |
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Dehydration |
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Relaxation, before
sleep |
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Exhaustion |
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Neurological causes |
Rabies |
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Tetanus |
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Trauma |
Laceration after a fight between rabbits |
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Genetic cause |
Microphtalmia, or
abnormally small sized eyeball |
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Neoplasia, cancer |
Tumor of the
eyelid, or the eye |
Squamous cell carcinoma of the third eyelid (more common
in third eyelid lacking a brown-colored edge)
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Cancer of the cheek bone, leading to osteolysis,
necrosis
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Drugs |
Sedatives |
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