Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 2 complete abstracts (370 words), 8 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Inflammation of the iris characterized by circumcorneal injection, aqueous flare, keratotic precipitates, and constricted and sluggish pupil along with discoloration of the iris.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Iritides.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Iris Diseases; Uveitis, Anterior
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 1,105 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Iritis” (counts retrieved 2026-11-04). 19 of them (1.7%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is through 1999 with 931 records.
Reviews account for 55 records (5.0%) and meta-analyses for 1. Randomized controlled trials number 16 (1.4%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 931 |
| 2000-2009 | 85 |
| 2010-2019 | 70 |
| 2020 onward | 19 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 55 | 5.0% |
| Meta-analyses | 1 | 0.1% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 16 | 1.4% |
Method: PubMed query "Iritis"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-11-04.
Reading the evidence in eye, ear, nose and throat
Eye, hearing, nose and throat studies rely on specialist tests (visual acuity, eye pressure, audiograms, scopes) and on patient-reported symptoms, which vary between people and with age. Some conditions improve without treatment, so comparison groups matter. Nothing on this page is advice about diagnosis or treatment; sudden loss of sight or hearing needs urgent care from a qualified clinician. Check how the outcome was tested, the age of the people studied and how long they were followed.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lassa Virus Targeting of Anterior Uvea and Endothelium of Cornea and Conjunctiva in Eye of Guinea Pig Model | 2019 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 19 | cc by PMID 31002065 · DOI · PMC6478213 |
| Causal Association between Iritis or Uveitis and Glaucoma: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomisation Study | 2023 | Meta-analysis Design not recorded in structured metadata | 11 | cc by PMID 36980914 · DOI · PMC10048342 |
Lassa Virus Targeting of Anterior Uvea and Endothelium of Cornea and Conjunctiva in Eye of Guinea Pig Model [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Lassa virus (LASV), a hemorrhagic fever virus endemic to West Africa, causes conjunctivitis in patients with acute disease.
- Closing excerpt
- Overall, in this model, LASV antigen was restricted to the anterior uvea and was associated with mild chronic inflammation in animals with severe disease but was not detected in survivors.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (153 words)
Lassa virus (LASV), a hemorrhagic fever virus endemic to West Africa, causes conjunctivitis in patients with acute disease. To examine ocular manifestations of LASV, we histologically examined eyes from infected guinea pigs. In fatal disease, LASV immunostaining was most prominent in the anterior uvea, especially in the filtration angle, ciliary body, and iris and in and around vessels in the bulbar conjunctiva and peripheral cornea, where it co-localized with an endothelial marker (platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule). Antigen was primarily associated with infiltration of T-lymphocytes around vessels in the anterior uvea and with new vessel formation at the peripheral cornea. In animals that exhibited clinical signs but survived infection, eyes had little to no inflammation and no LASV immunostaining 6 weeks after infection. Overall, in this model, LASV antigen was restricted to the anterior uvea and was associated with mild chronic inflammation in animals with severe disease but was not detected in survivors.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 31002065 · DOI · PMC6478213
Causal Association between Iritis or Uveitis and Glaucoma: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomisation Study [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Recent studies have suggested an association between iritis or uveitis and glaucoma.
- Closing excerpt
- These findings imply that the current classifications of uveitic glaucoma and open-angle glaucoma overlap, indicating the need for further investigating these complex relationships.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (217 words)
Recent studies have suggested an association between iritis or uveitis and glaucoma. This study investigated the causal relationship between glaucoma and iritis and uveitis as exposures in a multi-ethnic population. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with exposures to iritis and uveitis from the genome-wide association study (GWAS) data of Biobank Japan (BBJ) and the meta-analysis data from BBJ and UK Biobank (UKB) were used as instrumental variables (IVs). The GWAS dataset for glaucoma was extracted from the meta-analysis data (n = 240,302) of Genetic Epidemiology Research in Adult Health and Aging and UKB. The casual estimates were assessed with a two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR) test using the inverse-variance-weighted (IVW) method, weighted median method, MR-Egger method, and MR-Pleiotropy Residual Sum and Outlier test. The IVW method revealed a significant causal association between iritis and glaucoma using IVs (p n = 2) (odds ratio [OR] = 1.01, p = 0.017), a significant association between iritis exposures (p n = 11) (OR = 1.04, p = 0.001), and a significant causal association between uveitis exposures (n = 10 with p p = 0.001). Iritis and uveitis had causal effects on glaucoma risk based on IVs from the multi-ethnic population. These findings imply that the current classifications of uveitic glaucoma and open-angle glaucoma overlap, indicating the need for further investigating these complex relationships.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 36980914 · DOI · PMC10048342
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Blau syndrome of granulomatous arthritis, iritis, and skin rash: a new family and review of the literature [3]
- Research article Ocular involvement in acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis (Sweet syndrome): new cases and review of the literature [4]
- Research article Ocular manifestations of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection [5]
- Research article Etanercept therapy-associated acute uveitis: a case report and literature review [6]
- Research article Corneal bee sting with retained stinger [7]
- Research article Intraocular blastomycosis: case report and review [8]
References
- Gary JM, Welch SR, Ritter JM, Coleman-McCray J, Huynh T, Kainulainen MH, et al.. Lassa Virus Targeting of Anterior Uvea and Endothelium of Cornea and Conjunctiva in Eye of Guinea Pig Model. . 2019. PMID 31002065 · DOI · PMC6478213
- Seo JH, Lee Y. Causal Association between Iritis or Uveitis and Glaucoma: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomisation Study. . 2023. PMID 36980914 · DOI · PMC10048342
- Manouvrier-Hanu S, Puech B, Piette F, Boute-Benejean O, Desbonnet A, Duquesnoy B, et al.. Blau syndrome of granulomatous arthritis, iritis, and skin rash: a new family and review of the literature. Am J Med Genet. 1998. PMID 9508240 · DOI
- Gottlieb CC, Mishra A, Belliveau D, Green P, Heathcote JG. Ocular involvement in acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis (Sweet syndrome): new cases and review of the literature. Surv Ophthalmol. 2008. PMID 18501268 · DOI
- Salzman MB, Sood SK, Slavin ML, Rubin LG. Ocular manifestations of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. Clin Infect Dis. 1992. PMID 1600016 · DOI
- Wang F, Wang NS. Etanercept therapy-associated acute uveitis: a case report and literature review. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2009. PMID 19917170
- Smith DG, Roberge RJ. Corneal bee sting with retained stinger. J Emerg Med. 2001. PMID 11207405 · DOI
- Lopez R, Mason JO, Parker JS, Pappas PG. Intraocular blastomycosis: case report and review. Clin Infect Dis. 1994. PMID 8075276 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.