Protruding nictitating membrane (third eyelid)
Differential diagnosis
MediRabbit.com is funded solely by the
generosity of donors.
Every donation, no matter what
the size, is appreciated and will aid in the continuing research of medical care
and health of rabbits.
Thank you
|
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).
Bacterial infection |
Conjunctivitis, accompanied by purulent, fibrotic, granular
inflammation of the third eyelid |
Osteomyelitis, infection of the bone of the cheek bone |
Respiratory distress |
Lower respiratory tract infection, e.g., pneumonia
|
Thymoma, or benign
tumor of the thymus gland, leading to compression of the lungs |
“Mechanical”
causes |
Prolapse of the Harderian gland or “Cherry eye”
|
Atrophy of the eyeball
mass |
|
Presence of a foreign body |
Physiologic causes |
Pain, may be accompanied by prolapse. Including pain related to
disorders of the digestive tract, e.g., ileus, diarrhea |
Dehydration |
|
Relaxation, before
sleep |
|
Exhaustion |
Neurological causes |
Rabies |
Tetanus |
Trauma |
Laceration after a fight between rabbits |
Genetic cause |
Microphtalmia, or
abnormally small sized eyeball |
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)
|
|
Cancer of the cheek bone, leading to osteolysis,
necrosis
|
Drugs |
Sedatives |
e-mail: info@medirabbit.com